As the release date of “What’s Love Got To Do With It” nears in Pakistan, fans cannot keep their excitement at bay! This is why we give you excerpts from Jemima Khan’s recent interview because we wanted to find out what’s Jemima Khan really got to do with What’s Love Got To Do With It!
Jemima Khan recently sat down for an interview with Gulf news as a run-up to her upcoming movie What’s Love Got To Do With It? A rom-com directed by Shekhar Kapur starring Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Sajal Aly, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza, Alice Orr-Ewing. She discussed her thoughts on the movie, contemporary love, and arranged marriages.
1. The Story Behind The Story
“It came out of an idea I had 10 years ago, which was having come back from living in Pakistan for 10 years. I came back and reflected on my experience of seeing successful arranged marriages in my husband’s family which was pretty conservative. Ours was a non-arranged marriage.”
Jemima Khan
She reportedly considered the efficacy and efficiency of assisted weddings, which she had arranged back in Pakistan, after witnessing her single friends in the UK struggle to find lasting partners and their several disastrous dates with unpleasant candidates.
“So this idea sprang into my mind about what would have happened if someone like me, had not gone to Pakistan when I was 21 … This is not my story but I wondered what would have happened if someone like me had an arranged marriage … I wondered at what point would you accept an arranged marriage. How much heartache and how many frogs do you have to kiss to get to the point where you go – ‘I messed up, so parents, now you have a go.”
2. Glorfying A Regressive Practice?
“I think there is a really big difference between forced marriage and assisted marriage. Forced marriage is the other end of the spectrum and really has no place in the modern world. Whereas assisted marriage is where you are basically set up by the person, the people who know you best and who hopefully love you the most. It’s not that different from your friends setting you up with their friends … Also, nowadays a random algorithm sets you up. So, you are better off being set up by your parents.
Jemima Khan
3. Not Your Run Of The Mill Rom-Com!
“My life has been ruined by romantic comedies. My whole life has been destroyed and that goes for all my friends too. We have got this ridiculous expectation of being completed by another human being. We have this illusion of love at first sight and this expectation of mythical, magical love which is unrealistic.”
Jemima Khan concluded with, “Our rom-com is more pragmatic and has adopted the simmer-than-boil approach … I am both an incurable romantic and an incurable cynic – all rolled into one. And hence, I have written this film.”
What’s Love Got To Do With It is all set to hit the theatres on March 3rd in Pakistan.
