365telugu.com Online News, Hyderabad, July 18th, 2022: This year is the 75th anniversary of the Partition, and its lingering effects have been on people’s minds even more than usual. However, when a 16-year-old Pakistani American called Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) turned up in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe show Ms. Marvel, embodying the damage of her ancestors under Partition while discovering her superpowers, it felt special. Kamala’s heart-to-heart with her Nani about the Partition touched many souls.
The show has achieved what it set out to do and has connected with its target audience, much of which comprises the South Asian community with the sensitivity in portraying the difficult time in our history. Ms. Marvel’s particular representation that nails diaspora desi and subcontinental pop culture warmed many hearts. While many related to Kamala’s mother, guilt-tripping her daughter in that classic passive-aggressive way, others laughed at how Kamala’s parents wanted her to wear a Salwar Kameez styled into a Hulk cosplay costume. Through its charming tone and stunning visuals, the show does an admirable job of fleshing out Kamala’s humanity before introducing her superpowers.
In so doing, Vellani also nods to Marvel’s true fans by celebrating comic fandom’s devotion and endless creativity. Boasted by Iman Vellani’s feisty performance along with popular stars like Indian filmmaker-actor Farhan Akhtar and Pakistani superstar Fawad Khan, and other actors like Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Saagar Shaikh and Rish Shah in pivotal roles, the series has impressively showcased the coming-of-age story of Kamala. In all six-episodes, the writers and directors including, Bisha K Ali, Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, have shown layers of authenticity.
Day-to-day cultural norms are seamlessly weaved into the story: like Kamala and her friend Nakia’s (Yasmeen Fletcher) scenes in the mosque or saying “bismillah”before driving a car and of course, the big fat wedding with songs and dance! The show gloriously puts the spotlight on underrated and minority Ms. Marvel. Still, it pales a shadow by failing to give the commendable amount of time in the said spotlight. While the finale episode brings all the pieces together; the suit, the name, and the embiggen powers all wrapped up, in conclusion, it makes you want to know more.