Characters

Jesminder (Jess) Bhamra

Jesminder (Jess) Bhamra is the main character in the movie Bend It Like Beckham (2002) directed by Gurinder Chadha. She is an eighteen-year-old Indian girl who lives in England with her parents. She attends school, prepares for university, and plays football in the park with the boys in the free time. After Jules see her play, she invites Jess to join the local football team, the Hounslow Harriers.

Jess has a dual identity: she is an Indian girl at home with her family, and an English girl outside the house. She finds herself exposed to competing influences. While her parents, especially her mother, pressures her to obey tradition, her friends and peers influence her to follow her dreams.

 This makes Jess feel torn between her duty to her family and her passion for football which could also signify her wish to break free from the constraints of Indian culture. The fact that she lives in two different worlds is highlighted from the beginning by her two names. Jess has an Indian name - Jesminder, but only her mother who is a traditionalist, and occasionally her father, calls her that. Everyone else shortens her name to the English “Jess.” 

Jess is very passionate and skilled at playing football. Her room is filled with posters of the footballer David Beckham. She watches football on TV and also plays with the boys in the park. Even without proper equipment and training, she is good at it. 

Jess' talent is easily noticeable by others. Jules notices her play and asks her to join her team. Joe is not convinced at first about Jess’ abilities but changes his mind quickly after he sees her play. The American scouts offers her a scholarship in America after seeing her play in the final.

Jess is an obedient girl who does her best to please her parents. Even when her mother scolds her and wrongly accuses her, Jess does not answer back. When her parents forbid her to play football she says nothing, even though she is upset. She follows her mother’s instruction...