The much-anticipated film, ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ finally has a release date! Starring the nation’s heartthrob, Sajal Aly along with Lily James, Shazad Latif, and Emma Thompson, the project is all set to release on January 27, 2023. The film is directed by the Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and penned by Jemima Goldsmith who has taken inspiration for this movie from her own cross-culture marriage with the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.
A Cross-Border Global Project
‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ is a rom-com based in Lahore and London which will dive deep into the concept of love and marriage and will center around the concept of cross-culture couples. The movie has already created much hype way before its release owing to its star-studded cast and the rest of the team. The film in a true sense is a global project with a British-Pakistani writer Jemima Goldsmith who will be making her debut as a screenplay writer with this film and an Indian director who is known for directing ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’, ‘Mr. India’ and, ‘Dil Se’.
The film will star the multi-talented and the nation’s favorite Sajal Aly who has proven her mettle time and again by taking on challenging roles in various Pakistani drama serials including ‘O Rangreza’, ‘Yakeen Ka Safar‘ and ‘Alif‘ and also in movies including ‘Mom’, ‘Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai’ and most recently in ‘Khel Khel Mein’. The talented cast members also include Oscar-winner actress Emma Thompson who starred in ‘Last Christmas’, Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Asim Chaudhry, Mim Shaikh, Jeff Mirza, Iman Boujelouah, Mariam Haque, Rob Brydonand and Sindhu Vee.
Another surprise for all Pakistani fans is that the maestro qawali singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will be part of the film and has recorded two songs for the film. Furthermore, British-Pakistani DJ ‘Naughty Boy’ has also contributed to the soundtrack for the film.
The Plot
The film centers around a girl Zoe played by Lily James who has had her fair share of bad dates much to her mother, Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. Zoe decides to document her childhood friend and neighbor, Kazim’s (Shahzad Latif) journey from London to Lahore as he decides to follow his parents’ footsteps and opt for an arranged marriage with a girl from Pakistan (our guesses is that the girl is going to be played by Sajal Aly but nothing is official yet!)
As Zoe sees life from a new lens and experiences a world unknown to her, she questions her take on love.
“It’s a story of identities. It’s about cultural clashes and it’s a comedy, but it’s about hiding behind an identity and how identities can become tribal, and how tribalism can lead to clashes and fundamentalism. It’s a rom-com, but based on this fundamental idea of people adopting identities out of fear of marginalization.”
Shekhar Kapur (Credits: Variety)
The trailer of the film is yet to be released.
The Production
Jemima Khan will also be one of the producers of the film alongside being the screenplay writer. Working Title Films banner is also involved in the production while StudioCanal will distribute the film.
Studiocanal shared the first look on Twitter and we are already over the moon!
Jemima who is both the writer and producer of the film has shared multiple behind the scenes posts on Instagram and pictures of the whole team
Here is a snippet from the live performance that the whole team got to enjoy on the sets of the film!
The writer-director duo at work!
The press already has their eyes on the film and so do we! Jemima shared an extract from an article with the caption, ‘dream team’.
A candid shot from the film that we’re absolutely crushing over!
Sajal Aly also shared her look from the sets of What’s Love Got To Do With It? (Wait a minute, is that mehndi on her fingers?)
The film is getting much attention as it rightfully deserves! We are rooting for a fresh storyline and hopefully one that is relevant and close to reality since the story is inspired by the writer’s life herself! Fans can’t wait for the new year to finally see all their favorites in one film! For us, it’s the plot, the actors, and the global collaboration that is winning our hearts. What is it for you?
