Appleton (music duo) became students at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in North London, which was to tutor their fellow All Saints colleague and Nic's schoolmate, Melanie Blatt as well as Denise van Outen, Emma Bunton, Letitia Dean and Samantha Janus. The sisters were back in the UK in 1994, and, together with Shaznay Lewis, joined with former schoolmate Melanie Blatt to form All Saints. In 2000, both sisters appeared in the poorly received film "Honest", directed by ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart. In 2001, All Saints disbanded. Natalie and Nicole formed the band Appleton, and in September 2002, issued their first Appleton single
Bend It Like Beckham the role of Jess's mother, Mrs Bhamra, Chadha turned to Shaheen Khan, whom she had previously cast in "Bhaji on the Beach". Anupam Kher, a Bollywood actor, was cast as Mr Bhamra, Jess's father. Chadha worked with The Football Association and ended up casting actual players from a variety of school teams. "Bend It Like Beckham" was released theatrically on 12 April 2002 by Redbus Film Distribution. The film then received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 12 March 2003, by Fox Searchlight Pictures. When originally released in the United Kingdom, it topped the country's box office