The scenic route - Shekhar Kapur

What's Love Got to Do with It? is only his seventh film in four decades, but each release - from Masoom and Mr India to Bandit Queen and Elizabeth-has made news, won awards. This romcom, about today's increasingly complicated search for love, has netted nine nominations at the National Film Awards UK. It's fear of failure that keeps him motivated and experimenting, says Kapur, 71

- Karishma Upadhyay

Early in the process of making his new film, What's Love Got to Do with It? (2023), Shekhar Kapur asked a group of young women assistants E how many of them were using a dating app.

"They looked at me like I was stupid and said, "All of us"," he says. "That's when I realised what a social phenomenon these apps have become. I was in London when the Pill first came onto the market and I saw how empowering it was for women. Dating apps have signalled another huge shift in women's empowerment, by giving them control over their interactions."

What's Love Got to Do with It? is a crosscultural romcom that examines cherished ideals of love, and the difficulties of finding it, both on dating apps and in arranged or assisted marriages.

Zoe (Lily James) is a London-based documentary filmmaker who decides to follow the story of her neighbour and best friend Kaz (Shazad Latif), after he agrees to marry someone his parents have chosen. Zoe, a romantic, has so far failed to find Mr Right herself. Written by former journalist Jemima Khan (ex-wife of the Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan), the film features Shabana Azmi and Emma Thompson too.

The tale has clearly touched a chord. What's Love Got to Do with It?, a British production, has been nominated in nine categories, including Best Actress and Best Director, at the National Film Awards UK.