Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha notes:

People called Bend It Like Beckham a 'culture-clash' comedy, which pissed me off because that's the opposite of what it was. We worked hard to show a girl who was happy with all sides of her life.'

Bend It associate producer and writer Paul Mayeda Berges was asked, "So does their brand of entertainment come with a sense of responsibility?" to which he responded:

'Absolutely,' says Berges. 'Films can educate on a pretty cultural level; a young Sikh man from Texas told us his neighbours always assumed he was an Arab until Bend It Like Beckham.

'We have different traditions that are very important but our desires are similar. People will always respond to work that's culturally specific as long as it's done with humanity and humour.' [Link]