Ananova:

A film-maker says Bend it like Beckham was initially intended to feature a lesbian relationship between Parminder K Nagra and Keira Knightley.

Nisha Ganatra says her close friend Gurinder Chadha, who directed the film, chickened out at the last moment, reports Asian News International.

Ganatra, from New York, revealed Knightley and Nagra, were supposed to have a lesbian relationship but the makers were worried indian audiences might be offended.

Ganatra, whose film Chutney Popcorn has got rave reviews, was in Bombay for the Bombay Academy of the Moving Images.

Her film is a comedy that centres on a lesbian who is willing to be a surrogate mother for her married sister.