In Bend It Like Beckham, a young British girl of East Indian descent pursues her love of soccer against the wishes of her conservative parents.

And that, in a nutshell, is the recipe for a smash hit in Britain. Bend It Like Beckham went on to rake in more than 11 million pounds ($25.7 million) at box offices in the U.K., the most ever for a British-made and -distributed film. And you can certainly see why: Writer-director-producer Gurinder Chadha's small, sweet movie, which was also a runner-up for the AGF People's Choice Award at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, has all the earmarks of the feel-good sleeper hit -- and more.
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