Having borrowed from Bollywood's all-singing, all-dancing spectaculars with her hugely-anticipated Jane Austen adaptation Bride And Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha has got the taste for musicals.

The UK writer-director-producer has re-teamed with LA-based producer Deepak Nayar on a stage musical of Bend It Like Beckham, her hit comedy about a UK-Indian girl who wants to be a footballer.

Having incorporated some seven Bollywood-style songs into Bride And Prejudice, Chadha is planning for the song and dance routines in Bend It Like Beckham the musical to have a strong Indian element.

Nayar, who produced Bend It Like Beckham and Bride And Prejudice with Chadha, is raising private backing for the theatrical project, which could be ready for next year.

Unlike The Full Monty, another low-budget British hit which spawned a stage musical, Chadha has no intention of re-locating the story to the US. Bankrolled by 20th Century Fox, whose Fox Searchlight offshoot turned Bend It Like Beckham into a hit in North America, and produced by Lindsay Law, former president of Fox Searchlight, The Full Monty musical transplanted the story from Sheffield, England to Buffalo, upstate New York.

"Gurinder has some great ideas," said Nayar, whose film credits include Lost Highway and Buena Vista Social Club. "The Full Monty musical wasn't successful but I think setting it in Buffalo instead of where the film took place may have been a mistake."

Bend It Like Beckham has grossed $32.5m in North America and $44m internationally.

For a full report on Bride And Prejudice and Deepak Nayar see this week's Screen International