Have you ever wanted to write a movie script? Bend It Like Beckham's Gurinder Chadha has got you covered at the Red Sea International film festival. #RedSeaIFF22
PS. She's looking for a Punjabi script writer!
PS. She's looking for a Punjabi script writer!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00And the dad goes to find her, only to see that she's hugging the coach, the Gora coach.
00:08Ahhhhh!
00:09Screw in a light bulb with one hand, you pet the dog with the other.
00:25Don't say anything too intelligent.
00:28You!
00:29One of my favorite actors is Sunil Dutt.
00:32Sanjay Dutt, I'm sorry.
00:34Sanjay Dutt.
00:38I really believe in the Robert McKee structure.
00:41Every film is made of three acts.
00:43So you start with a crisis, and that's the crisis of your film.
00:51The conflict of your film, whatever the conflict of your film.
00:54Girl wants to play football, let's say.
00:57We see her in the park, then her mum sees her playing.
01:01That's her crisis.
01:03She goes home, mum is no more football.
01:06So it's set, the conflict is set.
01:08How is she going to achieve her dream when this is the thing?
01:13The second act is you develop the story more with this conflict still in mind.
01:19And you just develop it even more.
01:23So what Robert McKee tells you is push your characters
01:26and push your conflict to the unimaginable.
01:31What could be the worst thing that could happen to your characters?
01:36Push for that as your end of act conflict.
01:39So for example, in Bend It Like Beckham, the end of...
01:43So during act two, she's sneaking out and playing.
01:48And she's not telling her parents.
01:50And then finally her dad goes to see her playing because he's proud.
01:56So he goes and says, actually, she's not bad.
01:59And she gets sent off.
02:01And the dad goes to find her only to see that she's hugging the coach,
02:07the Gora coach.
02:09And your act three is how the hell is she going to get out of this problem?
02:16Because the championship match is the same day as her sister's wedding.
02:22So how is that going to happen?
02:24So you create these conflicts that you just don't know how you're going to get out of.
02:30And you push your story to find that twist that the audience isn't expecting
02:39as your end of act three.
02:41It's when the dad says, go.
02:45Go and play your game.
02:47And when you come back...
02:48I want to see you happy on the video.
02:50Because you look miserable.
02:52Go and play and come back.
02:54And no one is expecting that.
02:56No one is expecting that twist.
02:58So you need a good twist at the end that no one's expecting.
03:01And then something else major happens.
03:04She's touted by a coach and is offered a place to America.
03:10And then it's like, oh, my God, how's that going to work out now?
03:13Mom's not going to let her go.
03:15And then, of course, she makes that big speech.
03:18And then, of course, the father says...
03:21I want her to fight.
03:22And I want her to win.
03:24So it's very emotional.
03:27Because really that film is about racism.
03:32People think it's a comedy or it's dressed up as a comedy.
03:36But it's really about racism.
03:38And it's about the fact that the father couldn't play cricket.
03:42Because he had a turban.
03:44And couldn't join the cricket club.
03:46And so when he came to Britain.
03:48And so he's protecting his daughter.
03:50And doesn't want her to be disappointed.
03:53So it's not about some kind of draconian Indian thing.
03:57Where, oh, we're not going to let her play football because she's a girl.
04:00It's actually about parents protecting their children from the racism that they experience.
04:07Now, if I'd have gone out and said this is what this film's about.
04:10It would never have got financed.
04:12Never. Never.
04:14I have a great idea for a film in Punjabi.
04:17Great idea.
04:18One of my favorite actors is Sunil Dutt.
04:22Sanjay Dutt, I'm sorry.
04:24Sanjay Dutt.
04:25I want to make a film with him in Punjabi.
04:29So I've come up with a great idea for a Punjabi film.
04:32But what I need is a Punjabi script writer.
04:36But I also love Diljit Dasanjh.
04:38So the idea I have is Sanjay and Diljit.