Bend It Like Beckham [Milan] (CD - 2003)

Much like the soundtrack for The Guru, the music featured in Bend It Like Beckham features a mix of pop and Indian music. Unlike The Guru, however, this soundtrack is much more focused in both its scope and purpose: Bend It Like Beckham's director picked the music from her own personal music collection, focusing on artists of Indian descent like Gunjan and Bally Sagoo as well as strong, funky female artists including Blondie, Melanie C, and, appropriately enough, Victoria Beckham. The album moves smoothly from songs like Texas' "Inner Smile" to Malkit Singh's "Jind Mahl" and Sagoo and Gunjan's "Noorie," both of which feature enough Westernized pop touches to blend well but still have distinctively Indian singing, melodies, and instruments. Melanie C's "Independence Day," B21's "Darshan," Blondie's "Atomic," and Partners in Rhyme and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Tere Bin Nahin Lagda" are some of the other highlights from this diverse but surprisingly cohesive soundtrack. ~ Heather Phares minimize