Shekhar Kapur's upcoming film with Shabana Azmi explores the feeling of love

When screenwriter and television producer Jemima Khan once Goldsmith married thenretired cricketer Imran Khan in 1995 she didnrsquot know that it would inspire her to write a screenplay for a crosscultural romantic comedy set in London and Lahore 27 years laterThe film has taken shape with Shekhar Kapur at the helm Known fondly for the Bollywood hit Mr India 1987 and acclaimed for biographial period drama Elizabeth 1998 Kapur has directed stalwarts Emma Thompson and Shabana Azmi as part of the filmrsquos BritishIndian cast It almost seems metaHe tells midday over a phone call from Dubai before he sets off for a run on the beach that although the plot was inspired by Jemimarsquos wedding in Lahore to the now politician and former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran for Kapur it could have been set for all he cares in Shanghai and it would still be the same ldquoJemima had the plot all ready and it was Working Title Films British film studio who worked with me on Elizabeth that saw it through I had been thinking about the subjects of love and intimacy for a while so it this story struck a chord When I was making Elizabeth it was Indira Gandhi a woman who had to constantly deny her feminine nature to be seen as effective leader that I was thinking of What I mean is that this story could have been set in Shanghai or Delhi and I would have treated it from my own aesthetic vantage point Itrsquos about families and the search for loverdquoAzmi says she struck a friendship with twotime Oscar winner Emma Thompson who didnrsquot display any of the starry airs yoursquod predictably associate with a critically acclaimed starThe film that deals with South Asian communities living in England has a simple plot A commitmentphobic Zoe Lilly James decides to document her best friend Kazrsquos Shazad Latif journey toward an arranged marriage The story that moves between London and Lahore stars Thomson as Jamesrsquo eccentric mother Cath and Azmi as Aisha Kazrsquos mother who have been neighbours in London since the kids were young In Lahore is when Zoe starts asking the allimportant questionmdashwhat does love have to do with it ldquoI thought the script had huge possibilities As a director I looked at what I could bring to it What is intimacy Love and intimacy are so misunderstood in the world When we are born we are intimate with our mothers Then as we grow older intimacy is dictated by the ideas propagated by media In the world of Tinder and casual sex what are people looking for I was fascinated by Lillyrsquos character This girl represented that dilemmamdashwhat is modern love and why is it so difficult to find and hold on tordquoFor Mumbaibased veteran actor Azmi the script worked because it carried humour and warmth ldquoThat plus working with Emma Thompson and Shekhar Kapur It was an offer on a platterrdquo Azmi tells us She last collaborated with the director on his debut the 1983 Hindi film MasoomFor Jemima this film comes after the success of The Clinton Affair which she produced in 2017 after meeting former White House intern Monica Lewinsky who had an affair with then US president Bill Clinton at a Vanity Fair party She then was a producer on the Golden Globes and Emmy nominated Impeachment which Ryan Murphy made about the ClintonLewinsky sex scandal About Whatrsquos Love Khan said in an interview that she believed arranged marriage was ldquoa mad outdated ideardquo but she returned from Pakistan thinking differently and saw its merits for injecting practicality into heady love Kapur echoes her thoughts ldquoSearching for love is a never ending journeymdashand our idea of love evolves as we move on through liferdquo But Kapur desists from calling it a romantic comedy ldquoWhen I did Elizabeth they called it a period drama But to me it felt like a modern film If I define a movie I end up confining it Whatever the distributors choose to call it I will say itrsquos just me telling a storyrdquoFor Azmi this is one more international project to add to her kitty Shersquos happy that things have come a long way since the time when they asked ldquodumb questions about Indiardquo She adds ldquoWhen I first worked in Madame Sousatzka directed by John Schlesinger I was the only Indian on set and a bit of an oddity That no longer applies In fact you get a lot of people saying lsquoIrsquom dying to do a trip to Indiarsquordquo For Azmi the time spent on set was like being a ldquoperpetual student and always learningrdquo ldquoEmma Thomson comes absolutely prepared with her lines and then improvises on set She makes an attempt to be warm and friendly with the cast and crew and doesnrsquot put on starry airs Irsquove always noticed that the bigger your status the less you need to emphasise it the respect comes automatically We were shooting during the height of the pandemic in the UK so there were strict protocols to be followed But the atmosphere on the set was relaxed and Emma and I struck a friendship that I hope will be long lasting We spoke about the state of the world and our common concernsrdquo she says adding ldquoI truly enjoyed working with Shekhar after so many years He loves his actors and coaxes them to give what he wants I never once felt like we were working together after such a long gaprdquo Kapur laughs at Azmirsquos comment ldquoWhat she has misunderstood is that I coax the actors into giving what they want what I actually do I help them find the story and character in themselvesrdquoAbout the movie which releases in India in February 2023 Azmi says summing it up ldquoItrsquos a film about lovemdasha warm lovely film which judging by the public reactions to the screenings will be immensely likedrdquo