BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM THE MUSICAL - GURINDER CHADHA INTERVIEW

The 2002 hit film, Bend It Like Beckham is a full fledged musical - something it’s director Gurinder Chadha never imagined would happen!

British director Gurinder Chadha is having quite a year.  She released the film, Blinded by the Light centered around Bruce Springsteen’s hit songs and now she is reliving her 2002 hit film Bend It Like Beckham in a whole new way. 

The film was turned into a musical which premiered in London’s West End in 2015 to critical acclaim. 

Now Toronto audiences are getting the chance to see the production before it begins to tour and hopefully a spot on Broadway.  

The story of Bend it Like Beckham centers around a strong Indian-British woman, Jess, who tries to realize her dreams while maneuvering through her duties as a daughter of traditional Indian parents. Chadha herself meant for the film to be a "girl power" movie, which features both a white woman and an Indian-British woman fighting for their shared dream of playing professional soccer. 

Of course the film introduced us to Keira Knightley who has since gone on to be an international star. 

I sat down with director Gurinda Chadha  to talk about the Bend it Like Beckham the Musical and why it is hitting a nerve today. 

The stage production, is playing at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' Bluma Appel Theatre between Dec. 7 and 24.

Your  critically acclaimed 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham is now a musical which firstplayed in London’s West End .  Now you are premiering it in Toronto, a city that holds a special place in your heart for many reasons. 

Gurinder Chadha: “Yes, many reasons indeed. I came here with my very first film, Bahji at the Beach thirty years ago  and it played at the Toronto International Film Festival. There was a person in the audience  who loved the film and wanted to come and talk to mae after it played but I was a bit shy. However, the next day I was walking into the Sutton Place hotel and he was walking out and he came over to me and told me how much he loved my film and he gave me his card.  He told me that he ran a film festival in San Francisco and he wanted me to bring the film there. I remember looking at him thinking, oh my god he’s gorgeous, a little young but really gorgeous. So, I went to the festival and we hooked up and he is now my husband  of 23 years.”

Then you ended up bringing more films here so I am guessing Toronto is a lucky charm of sorts for you. 

GC: We did, we brought Bend it Like Beckham to TIFF and that was fabulous.  So when Cory Ross one of the Producers came to London to see Bend It Like Beckham the musical on the West End stage,  he fell in love with it and said he wanted to bring it to Toronto and I thought I couldn’t think of a better city to bring it to. So far it’s only ever been seen in London and hopefully if things go well here we will start touring it in North America and around the world.”

What was it that made you decide to make the film into a musical? 

GC: People kept asking me to do a sequel to the movie because it is so loved around the world and I really couldn't see a sequel happening. As far as I was concerned their story was complete. However, I really liked the idea of looking at it as a musical so that we could reach a whole new audience and tell the same story but in a different way.  I started working with  

The composer and lyricist Howard Goodall and  Charles Hart, and I fed then stories about my childhood and  my parents and the next thing I knew some beautiful songs were taking shape about my world.  That initial meeting and collaboration was the most incredible experience of my career. We all know how popular the film had been and so there was pressure on us to create a musical that would stand up to the popularity of the film. I feel that  Bend It Like Beckham is as relevant now as it was when the film hit theatres 17 years ago in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, when the world needed feel-good stories to bring people together.

Especially in today’s political climate, I  see a similar demand for stories that celebrate cultural differences, which is why Bend It Like Beckham continues to be rediscovered by new generations.

Charles Hart, Gurinder Chadha, and Howard Goodall_photo provided by Bend It Films.jpg

I was wondering about the pressure you felt because turning a beloved film into a stage musical doesn’t always work especially when its original form there was no music. 

GC:  Yes, we  were initially worried about that.  What ended up happening was something so much deeper  and more resonant than the film once the music was brought into it. As soon as you see someone on the stage singing your emotions really come through. Yesterday, I got off the plane and  I went straight to the preview and there were people around me just sobbing and then laughing and then sobbing again. You can’t ask for a better review!” ( laughs) 

That’s exactly what you want! 

GC: At the end of the day you just want people to connect.  I also think it’s really moving for people to see two things.  One is people with turbans on stage singing and dancing because it’s such a rare thing but also it’s a story about young women  who are being railroaded into making life decisions . So the whole film and now the musical is about young women saying no, this is what we want to do and we want to do it like this. So when you see that on stage it’s so rare to see that and   to have young women singing about their emotions of being controlled over their own lives , their own power and their own destiny , I think that’s very moving. I personally found it very moving when I was at the show yesterday to see so many people who brought their young daughters. That to me was the most important and moving thing to see so many young girls there. I couldn’t have been happier.” 

When you look back 17 years  the world has changed so much, but when you think about it have things really changed all that much for women? 

GC: I think that there is still a lot of pressure on young girls to behave in a particular way and look a particular way but it’s definitely not as bad. Girls have a lot more confidence  and people don’t pigeon hold them in the same way as they used to. I still think that there is a lot of peer pressure to be a particular size and be into certain things and I think that is the reason why the film keeps going and going because every new generation discovers it. It captures that moment where you’re figuring out who you are going to be  and it’s not necessarily who your parents want you to be. You want that, but you also want your parents to be with you and support you or give you that pat on the back and say we are there for you.”

So why was now the right time to bring it to the stage and why are audiences connecting with it? 

GC: It’s not just because the film is so popular but I think that there is so little out there  of what the subject matter covers. There are so few stories out there that are multicultural in this way and empowering young girls.  The musical takes the film's best qualities and "explodes" them into a cross-cultural song and dance show that  appeals to theatre goers, soccer fans and Bollywood lovers! 

Attempting a selfie with Gurinder

Were there any challenges turning it into a musical? 

GC: “You know, it was a pretty easy flow. That’s why those early days withHoward and Charles were so wonderful. They just took the essence of the film  and together we talked through why the film was so important. Charles wrote the lyrics for The Phantom of the Opera at a very young age  so I knew I didn’t have to worry one bit about him! Howard is amazing with choral music so we have several quartets and we even have a quintet  and so the way the voices come together is a dream. It's pretty powerful stuff about following your duty or following your dreams. The music pulls you in so many directions  and in a way that the film doesn’t make a villain out of anybody and you see everyone's point of view which is compounded further by the music. There’s a beautiful moment in the play where  the girl’s moms get to sing about how their daughters are mean to them and at the same time we hear the point of view from the girls and how they are feeling. It’s really quite touching and so relatable.” 

When it opened in London last year,  I can’t imagine that you didn’t have opening night jitters? 

GC: The first night was pretty extraordinary.  There’s a song that Jess sings called “Glorious”  where she sings, ‘I’m just a girl from Southhall with nothing but a dream but lowly girls from Southhall aren’t always what they seem.  Why can’t I go out and be glorious.’ In a way that is my theme song, I was that lowly girl from Southhall with no one who gave me a leg up …

And look at you now!

GC: (laughs)  Yes, look at me now! I think that is why it is so moving for me  and that opening night is unforgettable because I was really proud of what we have accomplished and how far I’ve come. What was great was the party right after because the reviews started coming in one after the other and they were fabulous.  It was very well received.