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Ms. Marvel: Newcomer Iman Vellani Cast as Kamala Khan

I ended up on some fb post of this show and amount of negative ill comments Indians have left is hilarious.Just hating because there is a Pakistani Muslim representation in Marvels. I am sure these are the usuals who have polluted the social media with hate and there are just so many of them. Have noticed other non-Asian pointing out such childish hatred as it makes Indians come across as intolerant hatefilled bunch.

Have not seen Pakistani ridiculing movies like Mowgli or Life of Pi etc for having Indians. Usual comment wars are in cricket and political threads but over a show is just so low of them, no surprise.
 
Indians have had good representation in US shows. Apu from Simpsons and Taj from big bang theory are iconic characters.

Why are they so hurt if there is a super hero with Pakistani origins?
 
I actually quite enjoyed Mowgli, the kid who played him was super cute. Would never think of getting but-t hurt over a movie.
 
There is a difference between Mowgli and this Marvel show - Mowgli for example depicts Indians in their natural environment ( to an outsider perspective) i.e naked, running in jungles, dancing with animals etc.

Their problem seems to be that marvel has depicted the Pakistanis in a similar way to other marvel characters and as someone to aspire to be like.

I remember their gleeful comments under Squid games articles, when the "Pakistani" character mentioned to one of the Koreans who didn't know where Pakistan was that Pakistan was next to India.

Sadly they will counter any half decent representation of Pakistanis with their hate.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
There is a difference between Mowgli and this Marvel show - Mowgli for example depicts Indians in their natural environment ( to an outsider perspective) i.e naked, running in jungles, dancing with animals etc.
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Lol you are trying too hard
 
The obsessed ones are getting hurt over a fictional character in a fictional world. Can't say this wasn't expected.
 
Is the show good?

Is it good because of Pakistani character or is it really a good show because Hollywood and cultural appropriation go hand in hand. That’s what is turning me off of this.

I can understand Pakistanis being excited about this because of the positive representation instead of the same old brutal military dictator or terrorist tropes in movies.

However it is dumb if Indians are not watching this solely for Pakistan connection.

Given Marvel’s quality recently I would bet on this show sucking and probably the cultural appropriation makes it even more irritating.

If someone genuinely thinks this is an amazing show at Spiderman no way home level then sure I would give it a shot because it seems kid friendly and there aren’t too many shows that both kids and adults can enjoy together these days.
 
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Kriketer said:
I ended up on some fb post of this show and amount of negative ill comments Indians have left is hilarious.Just hating because there is a Pakistani Muslim representation in Marvels. I am sure these are the usuals who have polluted the social media with hate and there are just so many of them. Have noticed other non-Asian pointing out such childish hatred as it makes Indians come across as intolerant hatefilled bunch.

Have not seen Pakistani ridiculing movies like Mowgli or Life of Pi etc for having Indians. Usual comment wars are in cricket and political threads but over a show is just so low of them, no surprise.
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I always wonder where these Indian netters come from. Nobody I know is like that offline.
 
Yeah its a kid friendly show and thata one its plus points.

Is it a top quality TV show? Well that really depends on your tastes.

Its far better than star plus dramas and nowhere near the level of top class shows like the wire, sopranos or ertugral.

It's a fun watch but not a show ( assuming you are in your 30s like me) you will regret missing an episode of if you were busy.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
There is a difference between Mowgli and this Marvel show - Mowgli for example depicts Indians in their natural environment ( to an outsider perspective) i.e naked, running in jungles, dancing with animals etc.

Their problem seems to be that marvel has depicted the Pakistanis in a similar way to other marvel characters and as someone to aspire to be like.

I remember their gleeful comments under Squid games articles, when the "Pakistani" character mentioned to one of the Koreans who didn't know where Pakistan was that Pakistan was next to India.

Sadly they will counter any half decent representation of Pakistanis with their hate.
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I always felt the ultimate western depiction of India was in Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Temple of Doom. You had evil cackling turbaned villains, eyeball soup, lots of dark gods/goddesses whom the local bumpkins worshipped in a trance. And a blonde heroine dumped in the middle of this fetid mish mash for hero Indiana Jones to swoop in and rescue.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I always felt the ultimate western depiction of India was in Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Temple of Doom. You had evil cackling turbaned villains, eyeball soup, lots of dark gods/goddesses whom the local bumpkins worshipped in a trance. And a blonde heroine dumped in the middle of this fetid mish mash for hero Indiana Jones to swoop in and rescue.
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A fun 80’s film, have you seen the more recent Oscar winner Zero Dark thirty?
 
Brave from Marvel. But I suppose if the character is "westernised", the show may get some traction. Dont think mainstream Marvel audiences would care much for a Pakistani Muslim superhero though.
 
shaz619 said:
Is this any good? am watching Valhalla currently
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[MENTION=156349]Hextro[/MENTION] was kind of right first few mins did seem slightly bollywoodish but I’ll finish it by next week and give it a review, Vellani looked really good(acting) but all others for now seem not that great(hoping it improves).. watched only first few mins, trying to finish winter soldier and hawk which also started well but went down.

I surprisingly enjoyed Hawkeye though..
 
I learned a fun fact today about one of the cast members of this show. The guy that's playing Bruno in this show was one of the finalists to play Spiderman in the MCU. Tom Holland eventually got the role because he apparently had better chemistry with Robert Downey Jr.
 
Ms Marvel, a web series based on a Muslim superhero, broke the internet with its record-breaking reviews a week after its launch. However, after being rated as the best-reviewed MCU series on Disney Plus and a 97% critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes, the Kamala Khan-starrer became the lowest scored MCU series on IMDb— a surprise to many.

Forbes blames “review bombing” to be the reason behind the miniseries’ low ratings and described it as “people intentionally rated the show poorly to lower its ratings.” While some people may argue that it could be because people simply do not like it, it’s highly unlikely because other rating platforms, user reviews and Disney+ statistics prove them wrong. Given the data, it’s impossible not to see what’s going on with Ms Marvel as an outlier with malicious origins — namely discrimination against race and religion.

One-star ratings

For IMDb, Loki stands on top with an 8.2/10 rating and Ms Marvel stands as a downward outlier on the last with a 6.6/10 rating – the lowest any MCU series have been rated. However, according to the publication, when we dig further into individual statistics, the low score for Ms Marvel is due to user spamming the website with one-star reviews for the show in large numbers.

All critically acclaimed MCU series including Loki and WandaVision, have received an average of 2.5% one-star ratings in the past when Ms Marvel has, just in a week, gotten bombed with 22.2% one-star ratings. There’s clearly a bias against which the show is being review bombed without even giving it a chance.

And one can say that for sure because if you take all one-star ratings out of the picture, the show has received a polarising number of 44% of 10/10 star reviews, more than any series ever had. With all one-star spam rating removed, the MCU series is the one with the highest score of all.

Why is Ms Marvel being review bombed?

Well, there can be many reasons from unrelatable representation to racism and Islamophobia. According to American commentator, Joe Vargas, the miniseries was rated with one star within three minutes of its release, suggesting that the users did not even watch the complete episode.

Reddit and Twitter users have expressed reviews with racist, Islamophobic and sexist comments calling it ‘cringe,’ ‘childish’ and ‘wasteful’. While on the contrary, the show does the opposite. By casting Iman Vellani, a Pakistani American girl in the lead and giving other South Asian actors a chance to tell their stories of bravery and love, Marvel took a huge step forward in terms of representation in a franchise which has been dominated by White, North American Males.

Other reasons can also be because the show is essentially targeted to a teenage audience and for avid comic readers, Kamala Khan’s superpowers aren’t exactly reflective of the comic in the show.

But outlet described the “major” reasons for the review bombing to be the superhero’s skin colour and ethnic belonging. Some closed groups have reportedly protested to replace the lead with a blonde, white girl as they view a Muslim superhero as an assault on Christian values.

However, not surprising, it is still a shame that people are still repulsive of other races and religions gaining attention and their well-deserved authentic representation on mainstream media.

What is review bombing?

Review bombing simply entails a group of people spamming a platform, or multiple platforms, with reviews about a film or show to dominate and influence people’s opinion about it. While Rotten Tomatoes created a verification process to eliminate review bombers in 2019, IMDB still allows people to rate shows regardless of their limited knowledge about it. These review bombers often coordinate through a well-planned strategy by using their discourse and network to generate paid reviews.

This is a more exploitative form as most users do not actually read the reviews rather base their opinions on the ratings and scores the show has received.

About Ms Marvel

Ms Marvel is the first MCU feature to represent a Pakistani-American Muslim character as the protagonist Kamala Khan- a 16-year-old Pakistani American from Jersey City. It also stars Pakistani actors Nimra Bucha, Mehwish Hayat, Samina Ahmed, Fawad Khan and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar in the series.

People are happy with how show maker Bisha K Ali has brought forward an almost-accurate depiction of Muslim and South Asian culture with the mentions of Bismillah, the Urdu language, popular Pakistani and Indian songs, traditional attires, desi family banter and so much more.

Never having to see this world on mainstream media, some bits of the show were apparently beyond the comprehension of the regular Marvel fan and they chose the bitter route of internet trolling.

Despite it all, what matters is that the show has gathered much critical acclaim which has added more hype for more episodes to premiere soon. The first two episodes of the show come to Pakistan’s cinemas on June 16, with the rest of the episodes due to screen in July.

Express Tribune
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
What is a Muslim name?
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I think he meant it doesn’t sound like a Arabic name.

Kamala is a very common Hindu name for girls. It’s in fact a very old school name. Unless people are naming their girls after their mothers/ grand mothers, rare for younger kids to have such name.

Anyways it’s a show made by Hollywood who are masters of cultural appropriation and half baked sterotypes so won’t read much into that.
 
MenInG said:
Ms Marvel, a web series based on a Muslim superhero, broke the internet with its record-breaking reviews a week after its launch. However, after being rated as the best-reviewed MCU series on Disney Plus and a 97% critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes, the Kamala Khan-starrer became the lowest scored MCU series on IMDb— a surprise to many.

Forbes blames “review bombing” to be the reason behind the miniseries’ low ratings and described it as “people intentionally rated the show poorly to lower its ratings.” While some people may argue that it could be because people simply do not like it, it’s highly unlikely because other rating platforms, user reviews and Disney+ statistics prove them wrong. Given the data, it’s impossible not to see what’s going on with Ms Marvel as an outlier with malicious origins — namely discrimination against race and religion.

One-star ratings

For IMDb, Loki stands on top with an 8.2/10 rating and Ms Marvel stands as a downward outlier on the last with a 6.6/10 rating – the lowest any MCU series have been rated. However, according to the publication, when we dig further into individual statistics, the low score for Ms Marvel is due to user spamming the website with one-star reviews for the show in large numbers.

All critically acclaimed MCU series including Loki and WandaVision, have received an average of 2.5% one-star ratings in the past when Ms Marvel has, just in a week, gotten bombed with 22.2% one-star ratings. There’s clearly a bias against which the show is being review bombed without even giving it a chance.

And one can say that for sure because if you take all one-star ratings out of the picture, the show has received a polarising number of 44% of 10/10 star reviews, more than any series ever had. With all one-star spam rating removed, the MCU series is the one with the highest score of all.

Why is Ms Marvel being review bombed?

Well, there can be many reasons from unrelatable representation to racism and Islamophobia. According to American commentator, Joe Vargas, the miniseries was rated with one star within three minutes of its release, suggesting that the users did not even watch the complete episode.

Reddit and Twitter users have expressed reviews with racist, Islamophobic and sexist comments calling it ‘cringe,’ ‘childish’ and ‘wasteful’. While on the contrary, the show does the opposite. By casting Iman Vellani, a Pakistani American girl in the lead and giving other South Asian actors a chance to tell their stories of bravery and love, Marvel took a huge step forward in terms of representation in a franchise which has been dominated by White, North American Males.

Other reasons can also be because the show is essentially targeted to a teenage audience and for avid comic readers, Kamala Khan’s superpowers aren’t exactly reflective of the comic in the show.

But outlet described the “major” reasons for the review bombing to be the superhero’s skin colour and ethnic belonging. Some closed groups have reportedly protested to replace the lead with a blonde, white girl as they view a Muslim superhero as an assault on Christian values.

However, not surprising, it is still a shame that people are still repulsive of other races and religions gaining attention and their well-deserved authentic representation on mainstream media.

What is review bombing?

Review bombing simply entails a group of people spamming a platform, or multiple platforms, with reviews about a film or show to dominate and influence people’s opinion about it. While Rotten Tomatoes created a verification process to eliminate review bombers in 2019, IMDB still allows people to rate shows regardless of their limited knowledge about it. These review bombers often coordinate through a well-planned strategy by using their discourse and network to generate paid reviews.

This is a more exploitative form as most users do not actually read the reviews rather base their opinions on the ratings and scores the show has received.

About Ms Marvel

Ms Marvel is the first MCU feature to represent a Pakistani-American Muslim character as the protagonist Kamala Khan- a 16-year-old Pakistani American from Jersey City. It also stars Pakistani actors Nimra Bucha, Mehwish Hayat, Samina Ahmed, Fawad Khan and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar in the series.

People are happy with how show maker Bisha K Ali has brought forward an almost-accurate depiction of Muslim and South Asian culture with the mentions of Bismillah, the Urdu language, popular Pakistani and Indian songs, traditional attires, desi family banter and so much more.

Never having to see this world on mainstream media, some bits of the show were apparently beyond the comprehension of the regular Marvel fan and they chose the bitter route of internet trolling.

Despite it all, what matters is that the show has gathered much critical acclaim which has added more hype for more episodes to premiere soon. The first two episodes of the show come to Pakistan’s cinemas on June 16, with the rest of the episodes due to screen in July.

Express Tribune
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Did they not explore the most likely explanation - a certain neighbour of Pakistan and it's IT cells that never wants to hear anything good about Pakistan or Pakistani public, unless they are speaking against Pakistan or in favour of the neighbouring country.

That is by far the most likely explanation. Their sheer quantity would be difficult for Islamophobes to beat.
 
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ahsan17 said:
Did they not explore the most likely explanation - a certain neighbour of Pakistan and it's IT cells that never wants to hear anything good about Pakistan or Pakistani public, unless they are speaking against Pakistan or in favour of Pakistan.

That is by far the most likely explanation. Their sheer quantity would be difficult for Islamophobes to beat.
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Honestly I said that in first page of this Forum before anyone brought that aspect in.

Reason: It’s happening to all bollywood movies right now except for few so i saw the pattern, and also not happening to any South Indian movies because majority India is currently hell bent on dismantling Bollywood (I have no issues with that but sometimes good work gets ignored).
 
Local.Dada said:
I think he meant it doesn’t sound like a Arabic name.

Kamala is a very common Hindu name for girls. It’s in fact a very old school name. Unless people are naming their girls after their mothers/ grand mothers, rare for younger kids to have such name.

Anyways it’s a show made by Hollywood who are masters of cultural appropriation and half baked sterotypes so won’t read much into that.
Click to expand...

Per the comic the basis of the name was the Arabic word "Kamal". I guess they added an "a" to make it sound more feminine.

https://i.redd.it/k12xcnbs9kl31.jpg
 
We finally have the first look of Mehwish Hayat in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! The renowned Pakistani actor has made her Marvel debut in Ms Marvel as Kamala Khan's (Iman Vellani) great grandmother Aisha. What's more? The audience gets to see Mehwish sharing screen space with Nimra Bucha in episode three of the show.

In the said episode, we see Mehwish as Aisha, who has come into the possession of the magical bangle which later enables Kamala to have powers. Aisha puts the bangle on and senses acquiring the powers. In episode two, we were introduced to Samina Ahmed's character as Kamala's Nani and Nimra's role as Kamran's mother, Najma.

Nimra, who stayed mum the entire time Ms Marvel was being promoted, alongside her Pakistani co-stars, previously dished out whatever she could about the show in an interview to the BBC. Leaving some things open-ended for viewers to figure out on their own, Nimra also spoke at length about her experience working on a Marvel project and the question of “representation”, as well as the consequence of it.

For episode two, we see the 16-year-old video calling her Nani (Ahmed), having to ask her to place the phone further away from her face; a typical desi occurrence we can all relate to.

Nani then asks Kamala about the gifts she sent for her. To which, a very confused Kamala inquires about the bangle she's wearing in her hand; the one that'll make her Ms Marvel. Confused with the “weird” things the said golden bangle is making her do, Kamala questions Nani about its origin. “It belonged to my mother, Aisha,” shares Ahmed in the clip. “The one who disappeared during the partition, my great grandmother Aisha?” asks Kamala.

We can't wait to see how the story unfolds henceforth.

Express Tribune
 
Champ_Pal said:
Like Nayla, Karima, Shameema etc. You should know that being a Pakistani.

Kamala Khan looks like a child of born out of Love Jihad :modi
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I am not a Pakistani which has been explained many times, I have Pakistani heritage which is very different. As far as I know you can be called Johnny or Sanjay and still be a Muslim. It's not obligatory to be called a historical name from Islamic early days.
 
You know we've all been waiting for this moment! Fawad Khan is well and truly in Marvel Cinematic Universe and truth be told, we are over the moon! The fifth episode of Ms. Marvel was released recently and fans finally got to see Fawad as Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, great grandfather, Hassan.

What's even more exciting is that he shares ample screen time with Mehwish Hayat who plays his wife, Aisha in the popular Marvel show. The latest episode of Ms. Marvel picks up from the cliffhanger of the fourth episode of the show when Kamala Khan was teleported to the partition of India in 1947.

In the said episode, we get to see the backstory of Hassan and Aisha as well. The two had a meet-cute and then ended up falling in love and getting married. The duo then welcomes a baby girl - Kamala Khan's Nani, Sana.

The episode perfectly encapsulates the heartbreak and grief of Muslims during and prior to the Indo-Pak partition. Fawad as Hassan is charismatic as well as convincing. Many took to social media and lauded the actor on his Hollywood debut - that too, in a Marvel project. Fawad has starred in a project after six years and according to the fans, it was worth the wait!

One user pointed out a similarity! "The last time Fawad Khan played a Hassan, it shattered us all. Once again, a Hassan based in the 1940s but this time in Ms. Marvel," she wrote.

One more tweep remarked, "Fawad Khan in and as Hassan from Ms. Marvel. He is playing a short extended cameo in it. this guy is aging like a fine wine."

Another added, "Fawad Khan also played Hassan, a Muslim freedom fighter at the time of partition in the drama serial Dastaan with Sanam Baloch. Really loved the similarity."

Many were ecstatic to see Mehwish and Fawad sharing the screen for the first time ever. The onscreen couple's chemistry was obvious and fans couldn't get enough of their banter. There are certain scenes in episode five that will make you fall in love with Aisha and Hassan and we don't blame you!

It's no surprise that the duo charmed the audience with their take as an onscreen couple. One of the best MCU couples we've seen so far? You bet!

"Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan are the most gorgeous couple to grace the MCU so far," shared a user.

Another added, "So Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan are just two of the most gorgeous people on Earth, huh?"

One more commented, "Gawd, Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan's chemistry in the new ep of Ms. Marvel."

One tweep wrote, "South Asian/Muslims love representation is extremely rare in Hollywood/western media. Just loved Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan's on-screen romance and chemistry for the first time not in a Pakistani drama but in Hollywood's Ms. Marvel! So happy."

Another shared, "Ms. Marvel has been watched and I simply cannot articulate my emotions. It was quite difficult holding back tears during the first half. As if Hassan and Aisha's love story wasn't tragic enough, a sense of pride engulfed me upon witnessing Fawad khan reach such unparalleled heights!"

Fawad has returned to the screen after a six-year hiatus. The Humsafar star was last seen in Karan Johar's Bollywood directorial, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which starred Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Express Tribune
 
Superstars Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan have officially entered Ms Marvel’s universe as Kamala Khan’s great grandparents. With a coming-of-age story like this, Hayat is particularly excited about her “immortal” role redefining how Pakistanis are often (mis)shown on mainstream media.

The 34-year-old actor felt that casting native actors and directors to add authenticity to the show will help eradicate all misconceptions about Pakistanis on mainstream TV. Speaking to Disney Central about her character Aisha, she also expanded on the comparisons between Hollywood and our entertainment industry, the responsible representation of Pakistanis and Muslims in the show and Iman Vellani’s acting debut.

Even after the show had released four episodes, Hayat chose to remain tight-lipped about her mysterious character while only saying that she’s essaying “a Djinn and Kamala’s great grandmother.” Possibly hinting at a detailed look into her life one last time in the fifth episode, she added, “You’ll have to wait for another episode to find out more about her.”

Speaking about the diversified global cast for the shoot for Ms. Marvel, Hayat recalled that most of her scenes were shot in Thailand while a few of them were in Pakistan. Further expanding on the “magical experience” of being a part of such a big production, she exclaimed, “I actually lost count of the nationalities that were part of creating this whole magical journey for people to experience. But it was literally a moment of me where I was sitting there and thinking, wow, this is all real. This was a really fascinating experience for me.”

When asked about the difference between her new experience in Hollywood with that of the Pakistani entertainment industry, Hayat shared that there's no comparison since our industry is still growing. “Our industry is very small and it’s still in its infancy. When you talk about the biggest franchise in Hollywood, there is no comparison,” she said.

“But for me, it does not matter where I am, who I am with and what I’m working for. Once the camera or the red light of the camera turns on and I’m in front of it, it really doesn’t matter. It’s the same for me as an artist. It’s about me and the character and my relationship with the camera. Be it in Pakistan, in the movies or in shows, or even when shooting for Ms. Marvel, as an artist it’s always the same but it’s what’s around [you] that makes so much of a difference.” Hayat plans on taking her learnings from on sets of Ms. Marvel to Pakistan and implementing them to uproot the industry.

Moving on to concerns of representation, Hayat confessed that as a Pakistani and a Muslim herself, she would often get “frustrated” with the way the natives were “misrepresented on the screen in the West and in Bollywood” She lamented, “If there would be a Muslim character, it would always be a villain, they would always be the troublemakers, the women would be the subjugated women.”

As a Pakistani and a Muslim herself, she had always asked for a fair and balanced portrayal and Ms. Marvel was an answer to all her prayers. Saying that it was much needed, she shared, “Scenes at the mosque, words like Bismillah and Ma Sha Allah being used. Who would’ve imagined it happening? It’s headed in the right direction. Nakia being a hijabi and being very proud of it. Imagine how many girls this is representing as well as the two billion Muslims represented in the show.”

The Punjab Nahi Jaungi actor also spoke about the pride she felt when Karachi was featured in episode four of the superhero series. “You have no idea what it means to me and the people that live there. For Karachiites to see the Clifton Bridge, Teen Talwar, to see our beach, it’s literally a dream come true for us. It makes my heart swell with pride.”

Hayat concluded with high praises for Vellani saying that she sees a younger version of herself in her. “For me Kamala Khan is Iman Vellani and Iman Vellani is Kamala Khan forever.

Express Tribune
 
“Kamala Khan is me,” said the exuberant 13-year-old from Anaheim, California. “She is just like me.”

Khan is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Muslim superhero to headline her own television show. which launched on Disney+ June 8, has struck a chord with South Asian Muslims in the West because of its relatability and how it portrays Muslim families. Advocates for inclusion and representation hope the show will open the door to more nuanced on-screen portrayals of Muslims and their rich diversity.

The show tells the story of Khan, played by Pakistani Canadian actor Iman Vellani, getting her powers from a magical bangle that allows her to walk on air and conjure glowing light shields. But she is also a regular South Asian Muslim teen who goes to mosque, performs wudu or ritual ablution before praying, sometimes wears traditional attire called shalwar kameez, dances to Bollywood numbers at her brother’s wedding, and breaks curfew to hang out with her buddy Bruno Carrelli at AvengerCon.

The final episode of the series is expected to drop Wednesday.

Munir Zamir, who is British Pakistani and grew up in East London, said seeing a “brown, Pakistani Muslim girl from New Jersey” in the comic books and, now, watching with his teenage children -- has been powerful. Zamir, 50, has been a Marvel fan since he was 7 and has followed the evolution of Kamala Khan since ’s inception in comic books in 2014.

“For Muslims in particular, representation matters a lot because, for many years, misrepresentation has mattered too much,” he said.

Zamir points out that there are other Muslim superheroes in the Marvel universe like Sooraya Qadir also known as Dust. She wears a flowing black outfit, covers her hair and face, and can transform her body into a cloud of dust.

“Even in that description there are some classic tropes,” Zamir said. “But Kamala Khan is not some exotic woman from a Muslim country. That instantly sets her apart in the Marvel universe.”

The diverse experiences of Muslim women in are among aspects that stand in contrast to findings of a report published last year examining Muslim representation across 200 top-grossing movies from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand that were released between 2017 and 2019.

The study found women were particularly underrepresented, with just 23.6% of Muslim characters in these movies being female. Conducted by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, with support from others, it also found that 90.5% of these films didn’t feature Muslim speaking characters and yet 39% of “primary and secondary” Muslim characters were perpetrators of violence.

Making more relatable was intentional, said Sana Amanat, one of Kamala Khan’s creators and an executive producer on the show. She wanted to portray a Muslim character who “feels like someone you know.”

“She is not put on a pedestal,” she said. “She is awkward. She is funny. She is a sweet person who ultimately wants to do better.”

Amanat and her co-creators felt it was important to show Khan’s everyday life as a Muslim American teen.

That idea of normalcy resonated with Hiba Bhatty, a Pakistani American fan of the show. She particularly liked how Khan’s father, Yusuf, was portrayed as “a loving dad,” as opposed to a scary stereotype.

Bhatty, a Los Angeles-based architect, previously displayed comics on her desk at work as conversation starters. Now, she is getting ready to give co-workers a presentation. To her, it exemplifies how many in her community have moved beyond wanting to just be portrayed as “normal Americans,” to actually telling their own nuanced stories.

is also “reclaiming language that has been weaponized against Muslims,” said Arij Mikati, managing director of culture change for the Pillars Fund, which supports Muslim civic leaders and artists.

In one scene, Khan and her family joyously break into chants of “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” in celebration of her brother’s wedding.

“When you hear the call to prayer, that’s usually a sign that you’re somewhere unsafe on television,” Mikati said. “And all of these things are being reclaimed in this show.... That’s really beautiful because those day-to-day, small moments of our faith have really been taken from us in the media.”

Pillars Fund’s initiatives include a Muslim artist database, created in collaboration with and support from The Walt Disney Company, to bring more Muslims into the filmmaking process.

“A superhero story is not a genre where you expect a Muslim to be, and I love that this story is changing that,” Mikati said.

The show touches on issues from surveilling mosques to what wearing head scarves means for some. Khan’s friend, the hijab-wearing Nakia Bahadir, is played by Yasmeen Fletcher. One of the most important conversations between Khan and Bahadir happens in the girls’ restroom, where Bahadir talks about how she feels like herself, with a purpose, when she dons her hijab.

Jumana, the teen from Anaheim who plans to wear a hijab in a year or two, said she appreciated the show’s portrayal of what the hijab means to some young girls like her.

“My non-Muslim friends already know about my decision and respect it,” she said. “But if more people can realize that by watching this show, that’s great.”

Fletcher said she has been touched by such powerful responses.

“The whole point of Nakia’s character is to break down the stereotypes around hijabi women,” she said.

For the show’s seven writers – four of whom are Pakistani – representing Muslims and South Asians realistically was crucial, said the show’s head writer Bisha K. Ali, who is British Pakistani.

“We felt a hunger for being seen in a way that was celebrated and beautiful, and comes from a place of love and compassion,” she said.

While it’s impossible to capture the experience of nearly 2 billion Muslims, Ali said the writers leaned into telling the story of this one family in an authentic way.

The show takes a similar approach to talking about the Partition in 1947 when British India was divided along religious lines into India and Pakistan, triggering one of the largest mass migrations in history. The violence from tensions between Hindus and Muslims led to a refugee crisis, which the show weaves in as part of Khan’s family history.

Ali said the show’s goal was not to point fingers in any direction, but to tell one family’s story of the inter-generational trauma triggered by this chapter of history, and convey “a sense of empathy for the amount of pain on all sides.”

Ali described the mood in the writer’s room as “incredibly emotional,” as they talked about what their mosques were like growing up and contacted relatives on WhatsApp to gather more details.

Sitting in the belly of Marvel Studios in a windowless conference room, Ali said she had lost count of the number of times the writers looked at each other as if to ask: “Are we really here? Are we really doing this?”

Khaleej Times
 
"My passport is Pakistani and my roots are Indian. And in between is a border, built with blood and pain."

It's not often that you find a character in an American show speaking about India and Pakistan. But Ms Marvel, which features a teenage Muslim superhero, seems to be changing the discourse.

The line - spoken by Sana, the grandmother of the show's heroine Kamala Khan - refers to the 1947 partition which led to the creation of two independent nations, India and Pakistan.

Critics have praised the six-episode show for depicting that traumatic event with nuance and sensitivity.

The partition, which happened at the end of British colonial rule in India, was the biggest movement of people in history, outside war and famine. About 12 million people became refugees and between 500,000 and a million people were killed in religious violence.

Film industries in both India and Pakistan have portrayed the anguish and sorrow of partition on screen. But Ms Marvel depicts it through the lens of the present, creating a multi-generational story of trauma, loss and identity.

Writer Aanchal Malhotra, who has documented oral histories of partition in her books, says the show transforms its research into "something that is meaningful, emotionally coherent and accurate".

"It does a good job of picking up faultlines from history that have continued into the present day," she says.

Ms Marvel traces the story of Kamala - played by Iman Vellani - a Pakistani American teenager who transforms into a superhero.

The character first appeared in a solo comic book series in 2014. There, Kamala's abilities - stemmed by a secret alien gene - are activated by a mutagenic gas. But in the show, Kamala gets her powers from a mysterious bangle that belonged to her great-grandmother Aisha, who disappeared during the partition.

Ms Malhotra says she was fascinated that the show's makers chose a family heirloom as the vehicle for superpowers.

"People carried heirlooms across the [India-Pakistan] border and in the show, it's literally the portal to the past," she says. "For younger generations that don't know anything about the cataclysmic events of 1947, an object can be a starting point to enter the past. And that's exactly what happens with Kamala too."

Partition is not a background trope or a faint memory in the show - it actually helps Kamala make sense of herself and her powers.

That is perhaps clearest in the fifth episode. The signature Marvel track is replaced by the melancholic Tu Mera Chand (You Are My Moon), a 1949 song sung by actors Shyam and Suraiya who were both from a region in Punjab that became a part of Pakistan. Then a newsreel begins to play - it shows a montage of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, interposed with scenes of violence that marked the partition.

A flashback introduces us to Kamala's great-grandmother Aisha and her husband Hasan, setting the stage for the larger revelations that follow.

We learn that Kamala's maternal family was among the millions of people who crossed over to Pakistan in 1947. Aisha and Hasan are separated while trying to get on the last train to Karachi. Sana - just a toddler then - miraculously manages to unite with her father.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed the partition episodes, transports Kamala into that painful moment which changes her family and history. Through the teenager's eyes, viewers see a sea of people at the railway station, some searching desperately for a place in the crowded train, others bidding tearful farewells to their families.

The voices and conversations the audience hears were drawn from oral histories recorded in the Citizen's Archive of Pakistan and the Citizen's Archive of India - two independent archives.

Ms Obaid-Chinoy told the BBC that she wanted to convey the scale and anguish of the event.

"I was looking for iconic images that would be emblematic of the pain, the horror, the despair people felt when they were leaving their homes. I wanted to transport audiences right into that time - what people were carrying with them, the body language, the look on their faces," she says.

The result is an immersive experience as viewers live the moment with Kamala, who moves through the crowd as helplessly as the other people there.

"When she first lands into partition, she's not a superhero, she is Kamala Khan," the director says.

In Ms Marvel, partition is not a relic of the past, but a touchstone carried across generations. Kamala cannot experience her grandmother's trauma and pain, but what she sees at that railway station comes to define her identity.

While superhuman elements are a major part of the show, there are other, more personal themes. Like Kamala, many South Asians have grown up with stories of people from different faiths living next to each other until the violence began; of a family member who never made it across the border alive.

Ms Malhotra says that many people who lived though the Partition are still reckoning with it - and that unresolved feeling has passed down generations. "And you can imagine what Kamala feels like, being thrown into the very centre of it."

Apart from Kamala, other characters are also on a quest to find their place in the world.

For Sana, partition was an event which was impossible to prepare for. But she spends a lifetime looking back at it, trying to understand and accept it.

The conversations between Kamala and her grandmother give an insight into the difficulty of dealing with inter-generational trauma, Ms Malhotra says.

"Kamala's grandmother may feel things but she doesn't say everything - you understand that there is history deeper than what she's letting on. But she also knows that Kamala will have to discover it on her own," she says.

Kamala's mum Muneeba leaves Pakistan to get away from the past and a mother who seems too caught up in her trauma - but in the US, she finds that she wants to firmly hold on to the morals and habits she grew up with. When she returns to Karachi after years, she is relieved to find that it still feels like home.

Unlike her mum, Kamala doesn't try to run away from her identity, but she does try to balance her desire for freedom with her family's rules. It's a classic Asian American tale of straddling dual worlds, dealing with conservative parents and finding one's place in school.

But the duality of her identity goes beyond the seeming generational conflict.

Kamala is half-djinn and half-human. She lives in this world but her ancestors are from another universe. She never derides her South Asian roots, but she feels like an outsider in Karachi. When she discovers her powers, there's a sudden awareness of the future looming, accelerating. But to understand this, she must unlock her family's past first.

In the end, the ability to navigate two worlds both becomes and fuels Kamala's superpower. And the bangle becomes the centrepiece of this journey, leading her to a past that was otherwise unknown to her.

Every generation, Ms Malhotra says, has to "descend into themselves" to understand their family's history and its impact on their life.

"Without it, there remains many unknowns. Even if you are a superhero like Kamala."

BBC
 
Toronto, Canada – Shirin Shamsi, a Chicago-based children’s book author distinctly remembers when the fifth episode of Ms Marvel television series aired on Disney+, a video streaming platform.

Just like in Shamsi’s forthcoming book, the episode Time and Again featured the last train journey from independent India to the newly-formed state of Pakistan.

“I was an emotional wreck because it really hits home,” the 62-year-old author told Al Jazeera. “It’s just everything that I have heard from my mother’s own personal experience. It was very, very moving, and powerful.”

Ms Marvel’s depiction of the 1947 partition of India was the first time many South Asians – and others – in the West saw this chapter of history on screen, and on a platform as big as Disney.

In the episode, Kamala Khan, played by Pakistani-Canadian actress Iman Vellani, uses her superpowers to teleport to a frightful night in 1947 where she rescues her grandmother and reunites her with her family before the last train departs for Karachi city in Pakistan.

For some like Shamsi, it evoked tears, and for others, longing for a home that they have never known.

As the British empire withdrew its colonial rule over the subcontinent in 1947, it was quick to transfer power and draw arbitrary borders along religious lines of Hindu-majority India and mainly Muslim Pakistan, which included modern Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan.

The move triggered communal violence and a mass exodus that killed nearly two million people and left some 15 million displaced.

Fatimah Asghar, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, co-producer of Ms Marvel and writer of episode five, says partition-related searches surged on Google after the episode aired on July 6.

“A lot of viewers were saying: ‘I had never thought I would see our history in Western media’ or ‘I never knew about this tumultuous event and it prompted me to ask my family about the partition,’” Asghar, 32, told Al Jazeera.

Subsequently, Asghar and Bisha Ali, the lead writer of Ms Marvel, put together a list of resources that viewers could refer to if they were interested in learning more about a period of history that was missing from mainstream media and education in the West.

While the Disney series is a first on many accounts – a South Asian Muslim superhero and positive, nuanced representation of Muslim American communities – this particular episode was widely regarded as a blueprint for an authentic portrayal of a minority community’s history.

Read more at:


https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022...-brings-1947-partition-to-western-pop-culture
 
My neice and nephew ( 8+10) were staying with us recently while their home got renovated so we watched this show with them. I'd seen some of the episodes before but didn't watch in too much detail.

I really really enjoyed the show when re-watching it with kids and seeing them laugh at some of the stuff the parents etc would say. It had funny little Pakistani details, the partition scenes were amazing and it was a good show to watch ( primarily for kids/teenagers) but its one of the nicest depictions of Pakistanis I've seen in Hollywood.

I mean would you ever think you in a hollywood show you would a teenager playing guitar singing baby by Sajad Ali?

The origin of her name is also explained in the show.

Great show, great depiction and great fun watching it with the family.
 
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