Shabana Azmi, Lily James Starrer What’s Love Got to Do With It Premiers At TIFF 2022

Shekhar Kapur's rom-com What’s Love Got to Do With It had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 1o. Starring Shabana Azmi, Lily James, Emma Thompson, Shazad Latif and Pakistani actor Sajal Aly, the film is billed as a cross-cultural British romantic comedy.

The film is written and co-produced by Jemima Khan and her Instinct Productions. Producers also include Nicky Kentish Barnes and Working Title Films’ Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Singers Kanika Kapoor and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will feature on the soundtrack, with Khan also appearing in the film.

Plot And Trailer Of Whats Love Got to Do With It

The film follows documentary filmmaker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), for whom swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr Wrongs, much to her eccentric mother Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. On the other hand, Zoe’s childhood friend and neighbor Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents’ example and opt for an arranged (or “assisted”) marriage to Maymouna (Sajal Aly), a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. "As Zoe films Kaz’s journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love," reads film's official synopsis. The cast also includes Asim Chaudhry, Mim Shaikh, Jeff Mirza, Iman Boujelouah, Mariam Haque and Sindhu Vee.

Watch the trailer ">here.

Whats Love Got to Do With It Cast And Crew At TIFF 2022

Jemima Khan, Sajal Aly and Shabana Azmi, among other members of What’s Love Got to do with it? walked the red carpet of the Toronto International Film Festival for the premier of their film.

Aly sported a printed black blazer over a black and white blouse, and paired it with a black pants. The actor was seen posing alongside Azmi, who wore a traditional red sari over a purple blouse.

A brief clip of Aly from the red carpet, shared by a Twitter user, sees her narrating an anecdote from her time shooting the film. Aly talks about having worked with Thompson in her conversation with the TIFF host. "In the film, which I'm not going to reveal right now, with Emma! I had to kind of dance with her. And I asked the director, 'How crazy do you want me to go?' And he said, 'As wild as you can!' and it was with Emma! We are just dancing on this desi number and it was a dream come true because she is a legend. Honestly I feel that I am lucky, I am privileged and I am blessed!"

Jemima Khan on what formed the storyline and discussed her experience with The Hollywood Reporter at TIFF, “The film is my take on having seen some very successful arranged marriages and having had some pre-conceived ideas about what they might be like. Seeing them up-close, seeing them happy, including even the younger generation that is slightly more intellectual, assist these marriages that are a very consensual arrangement. And this is also me looking at, kind of, different approaches of how to define lasting love as someone who’s been, quite useless at it, personally.”

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