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Ms. Marvel's desi moments reflect the story of every brown teenage woman and I love it

Ms. Marvel's desi moments reflect the story of every brown teenage woman and I love it

Put aside your concerns of lack of accurate representation, because the first episode is super relatable.
Updated 11 Jun, 2022

This story contains some spoilers for the first episode of Ms Marvel.

When I first saw the trailer for Ms. Marvel I wondered what irked many netizens about the desi representation or lack thereof. After watching the first episode I can confirm that the netizens were needlessly worried — the show has some major nods to the same desi upbringing we all had, from strict curfews, restrictions on how we dress or asking permission for everywhere we wanted to go. Ms. Marvel is the story of a Muslim teenager who is living her dream and dealing with life at home, just like us.

The show starts off with Kamala saying "finally the moment everyone has been waiting for" as if the soon to be superhero knows very well how long the desi community, especially Pakistanis, have been waiting for her.

Kamala is, of course, the main character of Ms Marvel, but for me, the hyper desi moments were the stars of the show. Here are some moments I loved.

Bismillahs and Astaghfirullahs

In most Pakistani homes, there's going to be a person who will remind you to start everything you do with a Bismillah. Such is the case for Kamala when her brother asks her to make a small prayer before her driving test.

And how can a show about a Pakistani household not include a parent shaking their head in disappointment and saying Astaghfirullah when they don't like something? Kamala's parents uttered a couple of Astaghfirullahs over her obsession with Captain Marvel and some haram policing also made it to the episode when Kamala asked her mom Muneeba's (Zenobia Shroff) permission to go out.

A 'secret' language

The most desi thing I can imagine is using Urdu as a secret language in a country full of non-desis. Kamala's mom did just that when she mocked her driving instructor in Urdu in the opening scene.

In watching Muneeba let a "kaminey" slip out, I realised we all essentially have the same moms who revert to their mother tongues when greatly annoyed. A point to Ms. Marvel for recognising and representing that!

Kamala vs Aamir, the story of every sister and brother

Kamala has a brother, Aamir, and in every desi household, women are compared to their brothers. It looks like we're all in the same boat.

In the show, Kamala is seen preparing for her brother's wedding but at the same time she struggles to escape her parents scrutinising her every move. When not given permission to go somewhere, she drags her brother in and compares how he easily gets his way.

The episode also featured Aamir asking Kamala to unpack the groceries after their mother asked him to do it. This is the story of every desi brother and sister and seeing it represented in Ms Marvel made it feel even more real.

Desi parents and their obsession with shalwar kameez

Of course, Kamala had to have a shalwar kameez moment in the very first episode of the show. After she goes to great lengths to impress her parents and get permission to go to Avengers Con, Kamala's parents come up with a solution — Hulk-themed shalwar kameez. Her father was comically dressed in matching Hulk attire — a green kurta with bright purple details.

The emphasis on wearing shalwar kameez was familiar because I'm sure there are many other women like me who feel pressured to dress a certain way because of our parents. In that moment, I felt even more connected to Kamala as she sighed in disappointment over her parents' shenanigans.

Desi music reigns supreme

While I liked 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as the main track, the first episode didn't let me down when it came to the desi music it had to offer. Kamala entered school to an upbeat song that turned out to be Riz Ahmed's 'Deal With It'.

The first episode featured 'Oh Nanba' from Rajinikanth's Tamil film Lingaa, Ahmed Rushdi's 'Ko Ko Korina', Pakistani film Babul Veer's song 'Sohniye I Love You' by Naheed Akhtar and 'Rozi' by Eva B and I loved every second of it.

Who is Kamala Khan?

In the show, actor Iman Vellani plays 16-year-old Kamala, a Pakistani-American teenager who lives in Jersey City. Kamala is an aspiring artist, an avid gamer, and a voracious fan-fiction scribe. She is also a huge fan of the Avengers — and one in particular, Captain Marvel. But Kamala has always struggled to find her place in the world — that is until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to.

Ms Marvel is being helmed by Oscar-winning Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Meera Menon, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. While it premiered on Disney+ on Wednesday, Marvel Studios will be releasing Ms. Marvel exclusively in cinemas in Pakistan next week. Episodes one and two will debut on June 16, three and four on June 30 and five and six on July 14.

The cast includes Aramis Knight, Matt Lintz, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Mohan Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Nimra Bucha, Mehwish Hayat, Samina Ahmed, Shroff, Yasmeen Fletcher, Travina Springer, Laurel Marsden, Laith Nakli, Azhra Usman and Fawad Khan.

Comments

Saira Khan Jun 09, 2022 09:36pm
It’s good they only picked actual actors and not some rich kid from Isloo who accidentally became an actor
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Mr. Malaria Jun 09, 2022 09:53pm
who cares
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Pandu Jun 10, 2022 12:59am
"in watching Muneeba let a "kaminey" slip out" - so giving gali is funny and a Pakistani thing, is it?
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Pandu Jun 10, 2022 12:59am
"The most desi thing I can imagine is using Urdu as a secret language in a country full of non-desis' - a mild form of taqiya. Very nice.
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Pandu Jun 10, 2022 01:00am
Kamala is a Hindu name.
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huma zaman Jun 10, 2022 05:10am
It was so relatable as a desi :) so happy something this incredible for our kids to watch.
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shubs Jun 10, 2022 05:15am
The term Desi doesn't include Pakistanis outside of Pakistan's borders. Not sure how many of your readers realize this.
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Ahmed Jun 10, 2022 12:39pm
Kamala brother's name is Aamir, not Ahmed.
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Hasan Jun 10, 2022 02:36pm
You got the name of the brother wrong, it's 'Aamir' not 'Ahmed'.
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salman Jun 10, 2022 03:24pm
@Pandu Great, but in the show the character is of Pakistani origin and a Muslim. It's made pretty clear in the first 2 mins.
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salman Jun 10, 2022 03:26pm
@shubs In fact, in the UK the term desi is used (mainly by desis) to describe anyone with Asian sub-continent origins.
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salman Jun 10, 2022 03:27pm
Marsha, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I saw the fist episode with the kids yesterday, we all loved it too.
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Comfortable Desi Jun 10, 2022 04:51pm
@Pandu please don’t ruin something nice with your needless criticism. Go ahead and make better content if you think you can improve upon it. Try and be a happy and optimistic person. This is an awesome show and kids love it!
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Desi Jun 10, 2022 04:54pm
Also it’s not released yet in Pakistan so pointless article. Nobody can relate to it!
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A Khan Jun 10, 2022 08:33pm
When people born in kala shah kaku act like they from Chicago, this is what you get. No this isn't 'every' brown girls situation. Just the abcds.
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Shasyendra Yadav Jun 11, 2022 09:03am
Every brown woman? Nope. Not at all
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Shasyendra Yadav Jun 11, 2022 09:05am
@salman there's nothing like asian sub continent. You probably meant the Indian Subcontinent.
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Tadka Jun 11, 2022 01:30pm
@Shasyendra Yadav yes new term created as they designed the new map last year lol
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Bunny Jun 16, 2022 12:01pm
such stories from the subcontinent are much needed on the world stage . gives a positive light hearted chirpy image .
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