There is no place for forced marriages in the modern world: Jemima Khan

Screenwriter assures she is not glorifying regressive traditions in ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’

As Jemima Khan's romantic-drama film, What's Love Got To Do With It? nears its worldwide release in cinemas, the screenwriter herself sat down in an interview with the Gulf News recently to talk about her views on the film, modern love and arranged marriages.

Talking about her perspective on rom-coms, she said, "I'm ruined by romantic comedies, I feel like they have destroyed my whole life and that includes all my friends' lives too!"

Moving on, Jemima also revealed how she came up with the idea for the script. "It originated from an idea that I had ten years ago when I came back from Pakistan to London at the age of thirty. I spent a lot of time reflecting on marriage after seeing many successful arranged relationships in my ex-husband's (Former premier Imran Khan) extended family, which was pretty conservative. Our marriage was only the non-arranged one," she explained.

She further continued, "At that time, I had a lot of friends who wanted to settle down and have children but were finding the process quite difficult. So, it really started from there. I would go up to them and say, 'Okay, so who would your parents choose for you? And if that doesn't work out, let me set up your marriage for you'. This also got me thinking, 'What if I hadn't gone to Pakistan at the age of 21 and instead had an arranged wedding?' How would I even get to the point of accepting this? How many heartaches or frogs would I have to kiss to get to the point, where I would tell my parents that I've messed up and it's their time to shine now?"

When the host asked Jemima if the film glorifies "a regressive institution," she clarified how arranged set-ups are not counterrevolutionary. She said, "Well, I think there is a huge difference between forced marriages and assisted ones. There is no place for the first one in the modern world. Whereas you can call anything an assisted marriage. It's everywhere around us, it's basically a set-up by the ones who hold you dear and know you the best. It's not that far different from your friend setting you up with someone or a dating application. It's just a different style of courtship, helping you meet the right person."

Before concluding the interview, Jemima refused to discuss the film's ending, "No spoilers here, you would have to watch the film," she said.

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