In the delightful new rom com WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Lily James plays Zoe, a thirty-something documentarian who has chosen to focus on her career and not settle for a man for the sake of settling. Shazad Latif is Kaz, a successful doctor who grew up next door to Zoe and her mum, Cath, played by Emma Thompson. Kaz decides to follow in his parent’s footsteps and asks them to help him find a bride through an assisted marriage, a contemporary approach to a traditional arranged Pakistani marriage. His parents are elated, Zoe is shocked, and Kaz believes he is making the right decision. Zoe sets out to make a documentary which takes the characters from England to Pakistan and back as she tries to determine if love is really needed to make a perfect match. The script is written by Jemima Khan, inspired by her marriage to legendary cricketer Imran Khan and her time living in Lahore. The film is directed by multi-BAFTA-winning director Shekhar Kapur in a comedy-drama that proves love can be complicated no matter the language we speak.
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The film has traditional rom-com elements, but there is also a lot of drama. What was it like playing those lighter parts but then getting your teeth into the more serious aspects of the film?
Shazad Latif:
Brilliant, it was getting to play all the facets of life rather than just one style or one way of doing things. It’s always nice to play complicated, nuanced people. For me, that is why it was separated from other rom coms; it has the emotional element, the relationships with the parents, not just the romantic relationships. It’s got a lot of different angles to it. And then all the fun stuff as well.
Lily James:
Yeah, I totally agree. I spent so long talking with Jemima Khan [writer] and Shekhar Kapur [director] about exploring what it is to be a young woman trying to balance her life, her family, and her career and how difficult that is. This myth of having it all, the reality of that is much harder [there’s] the pressures of having children. There is just so much in it. We wanted that exploration to be really real, not light, and frothy. Every day was different.
You have been friends for a long time. Did that give you a shorthand?
Shazad Latif:
I think it gave us a shorthand; we could jump straight into it, and there was no messing around at the start. We were straight into talking about characters, and then, we could jump straight into playing; on a filming day, you don’t want to waste time. We could go straight into let’s try that, or do you think we should try this?
Lily James:
I do think a lot of our shorthand and a lot of our connection worked for the characters too. We weren’t trying to stifle those instincts; those impulses were really useful, but we also had these characters that we were playing that would add a different dimension.
Zoe is choosing her career; she’s not following the rules as such. How important, Lily, was it important for you that there is no judgement about her chosen path?
Lily James:
So important. That was everything I spoke with Jemima and Shaker about; I fought for some of those scenes where she’s finding out her options with regards to kids and whether she wants that and what that situation is. I really wanted that in there because it felt like a real look at what it is to be a woman navigating these choices, which suddenly can feel really limited or there can be a clock that’s like now, now, now. How do you manage that pressure? I wanted her to be unapologetic for her choices; that was really important to me. I do think we’ve achieved that, and everyone was on board with that. Everyone wanted that to be an honest look at that and not sugar coat it.
Everyone is talking about the importance of a positive portrayal of a Muslim family in the film. For you, Shazad, how essential was that?
Shazad Latif:
It’s extremely important not just for me, but for the whole industry, for brown kids who want to be actors when they are older or filmmakers and for everyone to realise to take away those stereotypes. Even people already in the industry from the top down let those things sink in and open doors for other movies to be made, especially if it’s a popular movie like this; it can really move things forward quickly. It’s also for my own family to see themselves on screen. My uncle can’t wait to meet Jemima; it’s all he talks about.
What would you like audiences to take away from the film?
Lily James:
Hopefully, it can be a really unique experience for everyone watching it, and I think that, like you said, it’s really non-judgmental.
Shazad Latif:
It is going to be interesting; there has not been a movie like this.
Lily James:
And there’s no one way to fall in love, so opening people’s eyes to that.