Bend It Like Beckham photography began on 18 June 2001. A variety of locations around London and Shepperton Studios were used for the nine-week shoot, with the semi-final taking place over a three-day period in Hamburg, Germany. Chadha, who played an active role in casting, chose Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, who would play the two lead roles in the film, while Archie Panjabi and Jonathan Rhys Meyers were in early talks to join the cast. Shaznay Lewis and Anupam Kher were also in final talks. Juliet Stevenson and Frank Harper joined as Paula Paxton and Alan Paxton, mother and father of Jules. For
Bend It Like Beckham film a score of 85% based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The consensus states, "Inspiring, compassionate, and with a sly undercurrent of social commentary, Bend It Like Beckham is a lively feel-good movie that genuinely charms." Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" noted that the film "was really full of easy humor, an impeccable sense of milieu that is the result of knowing the culture intimately enough to poke fun at it while understanding its underlying integrity." "The Times of India" noted the film's social context, saying, "[it] is really about the bending of rules,