When it comes to representations of Pakistani culture, what we normally see on screen is more dated than an episode of Citizen Khan. However, that looks set to change, thanks to the new Jemima Goldsmith flick What’s Love Got to Do With It?, which hits the screen on 24 February.

Under the Working Title production banner, it would be easy to assume that What’s Love Got to Do With It? will just be Love Actually with added biriyani and bhangra. And while there is enough biriyani to make Nadiya Hussain’s mouth water (after all there is only so far you can stray from convention), if you scratch beneath the surface, it is more than just a romantic comedy. It is a clever and daring film with sharp but non-judgmental observations of both Eastern and Western cultures.

The film tells the story of Zoe (Lily James), a documentary maker struggling with sexism in the workplace. Her love life isn’t doing much better, thanks to her habit of swiping right one a series of Mr Wrongs and falling for a string of unsuitable boys. When her hot nextdoor neighbour and childhood friend Kaz (played by Spooks star Shazad Latif) suddenly announces he is travelling to Pakistan to have an arranged marriage or, as he calls it, an “assisted marriage”, she decides to make him the subject of a documentary.

During the trip, Lily ends up seeing her own life through a lens and ends up on her own journey of self-discovery; meanwhile, Kaz realises that just because someone ticks all the right boxes on paper, they don’t always tick the boxes in your heart.

The film was written by Goldsmith, a screenwriter and producer whose CV includes the Emmy-nominated drama Impeachment about Monica Lewinsky. Goldsmith got to see the arranged marriage process up close when she lived in Pakistan for 10 years when she famously married Imran Khan, the ex-cricketer and former PM of Pakistan, at the tender age of 21.

What’s Love Got To Do With It? review: this romcom explores a side to Pakistani culture rarely see on screen