Dec 09: The era of Rahman-Webber’s unexpectedly successful musical, Bombay Dreams , may be sliding into the twilight as Bend it Like Beckham heads for the London stage with a theatrical twist and a pronounced Punjabi accent.
Twenty months after British Asian director Gurinder Chadha raked in millions worldwide with her unlikely story of a football-obsessed London Sikh girl, the film may be turning before our eyes into the ultimate Hindi film-inspired musical.

Many believe it is an idea whose time has come. They say it points to the unexpectedly enduring appetite among British theatre-goers for Bollywood-inspired musicals, a fact that allowed Bombay Dreams to travel the high road to Broadway. But some critics say the concept is an abomination. The forced "Bollywoodisation" of a cult British football film will be an uneasy match, say some doubters. They believe it may be hard to cash in on the film’s success, raking in at least £11 million at the UK box office and millions more in the US. Chadha and her producer Deepak Nayar are apparently keen on extending the reach of a successful formula – glocalism meets soccer, overlaid with eye-popping celebrity and blessed by the most famous metrosexual brand name of them all, David Beckham. Chadha and Nayar, who’re reportedly searching for financial backers in preparation for a West End opening next year, want to keep the film’s multi-cultural British locale, immigrant sub-text and typically Indian vibes.