Advertisement

What's Love Got To Do With It?: Lily James and Shazad Latif share their best and worst love scenes

Watch: Lily James and Shazad Latif talk to Yahoo about What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Lily James and Shazad Latif, the stars of new British rom-com What’s Love Got To Do With It?, have nothing but love for each other, saying their romantic scenes together were the best they've ever been in.

“My best romantic scenes [ever filmed] were with Shazad,” says James.

“That final scene was something,” explains Latif. “But we can’t really talk about that! Every scene together was great.”

However Latif, who plays Ash Tyler in Star Trek: Discovery, admits an extra-terrestrial tryst he filmed for the sci-fi series was definitely a low point for him.

Read more: Lily James was 'a real wreck' after playing Pamela Anderson

“In Star Trek, I had a romantic liaison with an alien,” Latif says about his worst romantic scenes so far. “We were on a rotating bed and the director was playing weird music. That was how we filmed it. So that, in a way, was my worst — definitely was for the character.”

Shazad Latif, star of What's Love Got To Do With It?, during a photo call for Star Trek: Discovery, 2017. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Shazad Latif, star of What's Love Got To Do With It?, during a photo call for Star Trek: Discovery, 2017. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Playing childhood best friends Zoe and Kazim, the film follows the pair documenting Kazim’s arranged marriage, with both sets of families tagging along for the ride. Both actors admit they had embarrassing dating experiences with their family ‘all the time’ when they were younger.

“I’ve had my mum walk in on me a couple of times,” Latif says. “I’ve been cussing my mum all day!”

Read more: Lily James wins harassment case

“We’ve had a lot of parties with [her] in the house,” adds James. “His mum is amazing. I love her so much.”

Thankfully things were much smoother for the pair onscreen, whose characters progress from childhood friends to romantic sweethearts.

Shazad Latif and Lily James in What's Love Got To Do With It? (Studiocanal)
Shazad Latif and Lily James in What's Love Got To Do With It? (Studiocanal)

For their co-stars Asim Chaudhry and Jeff Mirza, romantic scenes onscreen have been slightly more varied.

“All my romantic scenes have been really gross,” says Chaudhry. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a really nice romantic scene. I kissed a 70-year-old in an episode of People Just Do Nothing.”

“I’ve recently done some nudity,” adds Mirza. “It went very well. Put it this way — you know when Arnold Schwarzenegger in some of his movies back in the 90s would be naked? That was me.”

“I specifically asked for that. A makeup artist came and did some contouring.”

What's Love Got To Do With It (Studiocanal)
Asim Chaudhry in What's Love Got To Do With It (Studiocanal)

With Mirza playing Kazim’s dad Zahid and Chaudhry stepping into the role of local Muslim matchmaker Mo, the quartet are well aware of the cross-cultural significance of the film.

“I think we always find [romance] a bit icky I think in England, or in Britain,” says Mirza.

“We're in new territory because there's a cross-cultural element. And there are cultural conflicts and within the culture, there's conflict as well, like the age gap. There are lots of different layers.”

“We're not passionate people, aren't we?,” agrees Chaudhry. “Here you have that Asian element, and Asian people are very passionate, sometimes very irrationally.”

Watch a clip from What's Love Got To Do With It?

“[Screenwriter Jemima Khan] really wanted to make sure she felt she was representing culture,” says James. “People will be proud that there’s just a real love of Pakistan, truth, and breaking any stereotype in an honest look.”

“She wrote such great characters. You want to have support, and this film shows you need a village of people, you need a community.”

“I think that's something we can lose it at times with being so global. We can be anywhere and everywhere that we sometimes lose the impact of just having that community around that can really support us. This really shows the value of that.”

“It’s [Jemima’s] love letter to her old friend Pakistan,” says Chaudhry. “The actual movie is about our love of culture, in a way.”

What’s Love Got To Do With It? Is in cinemas from 24 February.