More than just a pretty face: Indian filmmaker Shekar Kapur sings praises of Sajal Aly

The wait for Sajal Aly’s international debut film What’s Love Got To Do With It? is almost over – well, at least for her overseas fans. The film is set to premiere soon worldwide. During promotions, the filmmaker Shekar Kapur revealed that Sajal came “highly recommended” by his peers for his film and she did not disappoint one bit!

In conversation with a UAE-based journalist, Sadiq Saleem, Kapur reminisced how every person on set was in awe of Sajal’s beauty but he later realised how she is so much more than just a pretty face. “Sajal came highly recommended to me and then she sent in a few auditions. A special thing about Sajal is that there’s innocence in her eyes but when you look deeper, there’s maturity,” he said.

“She is obviously very beautiful. Whenever she comes on screen, she has that aura. During screenings, I always heard someone gasping,” he said mimicking a surprised emotion. “So there’s no doubt that she’s beautiful, but behind that beauty, her performances have a lot of pain and strength as well.”

What’s Love Got To Do With It? sees Sajal as a shy bride, a typical Pakistani sophisticated bahu, being married to a foreign rich Muslim bachelor in an arranged setup. About her character, Kapur stated that he advised Sajal to not confuse gentle and shy with weak.

“When we spoke about her character initially, I told her that you do not have to be perceived as weak. You’re gentle, you are shy and you have to portray that but gentleness and shyness are not the same as weakness. What you have to portray is strength. And now when you watch the film, you’ll realise the kind of strength she portrays,” he said with a glimpse of pride in his eyes.

“Itni si toh hai (she’s so tiny) and she’s so beautiful but she has so much strength,” he concluded.

What's Love Got to Do with It?, a romantic comedy-drama film, also stars Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza and Alice Orr-Ewing. The film also has a cameo by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.