27-year-old Parminder Nagra is the real thing in 'Beckham'

Parminder Nagra had never kicked a soccer ball
before starring as a soccer-crazed teen in Bend It Like Beckham.

But by the time the cast and crew went to Germany for a key competition in the film, "we literally had become a really solid team," says Nagra, a native of England, where soccer is called football. "We got so into it once that (director) Gurinder (Chadha) stormed across the pitch, shouting, 'Cut! Cut! Have you forgotten this is a movie?' "

The comedy-drama Bend It Like Beckham has convinced audiences and the movie industry that 27-year-old Nagra is the real thing. American movie audiences can see Nagra in August in Ella Enchanted, a modern-day Cinderella story, with Anne Hathaway and Cary Elwes. And Nagra was in Los Angeles recently meeting about other roles.

The rousing British film has made $50 million worldwide, $20 million of that in Great Britain. Now on 117 screens in the USA, it has made $2.6 million in four weeks, with a whopping $10,001 per screen average. It goes into more theaters April 18.

Bend It Like Beckham refers to British soccer star David Beckham's trademark ability to kick a ball and have it curve in an arc around the goalie. The title also metaphorically represents the challenges women face in male-dominated areas such as sports, often forced to bend the rules to achieve their goals.

"It stuns me how the film is doing and how people respond to it," Nagra says. "In London there was an article about all these girls bending it like Beckham, and in India there's this big wave of girls playing football. Wow! I can't believe a movie's done this!"

To prep for the role, Nagra practiced with England's only professional girls soccer team, the Fulham Girls.

"Simon Clifford, the choreographer/trainer, said, 'Some (professional) footballers can't even do some of the moves you've been doing,' " Nagra says.

She and co-star Keira Knightley endured months of arduous training to get them in soccer shape.

"We went home aching," she says. "There were points where she and I would look at each other and ask, 'Why are we doing this exactly?' "

But despite aches and bruises, Nagra was not to be daunted about performing the soccer moves herself.

At one point, "I had to knee the ball up and hit the goal. I told (the filmmakers), 'I will get it. You must allow me to get it.' They said, 'You've done it five or six times.' Eventually I did get it, and the relief almost made me want to cry. Then I woke up the next morning with these huge black bruises on my legs. But it was proving to myself that I could do it."

Raised outside London by Punjabi parents who had emigrated from India in the 1960s, Nagra began acting at 17, mostly in theater and television productions. Unlike the deeply traditional parents in the movie who are against their daughter pursuing an unusual path, Nagra's family was supportive.

"I told my mom I was off to London, and she never said, 'Are you crazy? You have no qualifications.' She couldn't really understand what I was doing, but she just said, 'Fine. I hope it works out,' " Nagra says.

At times, Nagra doubted her own choice.

"I was so headstrong," she says. "At times, I couldn't understand what I was doing. I just knew I needed to stick with it. It was instinct, and that's what I've always relied upon."

Her instincts have proved reliable so far.

"I meet people who have seen (Beckham) 15 times. The character I played is almost becoming like a bit of a cult figure. People tell me, 'I want to be like Jess.' Knowing you're part of that is really exciting. If I can inspire someone to go in a positive way and pursue a dream, it can only be good."

Despite her background in theater and TV, the subtlety of movie acting is her passion.

"I can pretty much tell the whole story through my eyes. Some of the best actors that you watch don't have to physically do too much."

Did Beckham make a soccer player of her?

"God, no," she says with a laugh. "That's what I like about acting. When you're preparing for a role, you do your research, and the bonus is you get to learn these skills. Now, it's on to whatever the next thing is I have to learn."