Bend It Like Beckham, FLYCUB20101
Format: CD
Price: £10.00
album cover
Gurinder's relatively low budget independent film 'Bend It Like Beckham' - with NO big name stars in the cast - shot to number one in its first week of release, earning over double the box office figure of the film ranked number two, grossing an outstanding £2 million over it's opening weekend. This beat the first weekend performance of other hugely successful independent British films such as 'Billy Elliott', 'East is East' and 'The Full Monty'.
It won the 'Best British Comedy Film' of 2002 at the prestigous British Comedy Awards ceremony, also winning various Audience Awards around the World.
Kiera Knightly
MUSIC NOTES:
This is an album embracing the full circumference of the UK's contemporary sub-urban soundscape, with a dash of classic tracks added for fuller flavour. Most of the Indian music used in the film are Punjabi-Pop tracks emphasising the fresh and vibrant young UK Asian music scene.
The musical soundtrack for the movie was intended as a layer to aurally illustrate the amorphous evolution of contemporary British society taking place without design but by the fact of geography and time.
At the initial stage of script writing, the vision was for an all female soundtrack to parallel the stories of the film's principal actors - both female. As filming progressed this notion was dropped to better reflect the essence of the movie - though some tracks picked in that early period remain in the final soundtrack.
The film is set in West London, and primarily based around two families, one Punjabi, one English, encompassing multidimensional characters dealing with everyday issues with more parallels than may have been expected.
As illustrated by the track listing on this compilation.
The subject matter at the core of the film are cultural tradition (Hans Raj Hans, Malkit Singh), independence (Basement Jaxx, Melanie C, Blondie); perseverance through adversity (Curtis Mayfield), 'spirit' and character' - hey, this wouldn't be a football film without those adjectives (Backyard Dog), wit (dialogue), subversion - Jess's match wining goal to the consummate sound of male football culture 'Nessun Dorma'... and, of course that film staple...falling in love ahhhhh... (Texas, Victoria Beckham - cameo'd in the movie, placing her stamp of approval with the inclusion of her next single.) ..... and for frivolity, Bina Mistry's spicy, spicy, spicy, version of party favourite 'Hot, Hot, Hot'.
The short pieces of original score music are from multitalented American composer Craig Pruess ("Bhaji on the Beach", "A Little Princess","Peak Practice" and Arsenal Football Club's 1991 club anthem) and Bally Sagoo, the undisputed King of UK Asian Pop, who has the singular honour of having the highest charting non-English single to date.
Track Listing
- Titles-Craig Pruess & Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan
- Atomic-Blondie
- Baddest Ruffest-Backyard Dog
- Darshan-B21
- It's Beckham's Corner [Dialogue]
- I Wish-Victoria Beckham
- Learn To Cook Dahl [Dialogue]
- Jind Mahi-Malkit Singh
- Tere Bin Nahin Lagda-Partners In Rhyme Feat. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
- Noorie-Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan
- Juicy Juicy Mangoes [Dialogue]
- Do Your Thing-Basement Jaxx
- Eyes Down! [Dialogue]
- Inner Smile-Texas
- Independence Day-Melanie C
- Can't Make Round Chapattis [Dialogue]
- Punjabiyan Di Shaan-Hans Raj Hans
- Kinna Sohna-Gunjan
- Nessum Dorma-Tito Beltran
- The Offside Rule Is.... [Dialogue]
- Hot Hot Hot-Bina Mistry
- Hai Raba!-Craig Pruess & Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan
Reviews
• 'A good mix of western and eastern music.... well worth a listen'
BBC rating 4 / 5.
• 'An education as well as a total pleasure... As essential and influential as was 'Trainspotting.'
FILM REVIEW June 2002
• 'Punjabi Pop keeps the mood upbeat... Rebel spirit comes through in girl power anthems...'
EMPIRE Magazine June 2002