Los Angeles: Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar recently made his Hollywood debut in the fourth episode of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) latest project Ms. Marvel. Essaying the role of Waleed, the leader of the ancient order known as the Red Daggers, Farhan Akhtar’s performance has been highly appreciated by both Indian and Pakistani fans, alike.
Although he has a brief screen time, Farhan Akhtar’s character Waleed plays an important role in helping Kamala, the lead character, discover her roots and understand her superpowers.
While many appreciated this initiative by MCU, many fans criticized that Marvel has taken quite a long time to introduce a Muslim superhero in the long-running franchise. Well, Farhan Akhtar has an answer to that.
In a conversation with India Today, Farhan Akhtar revealed why he thinks it took so long for Marvel to find their first Muslim superhero.
He said, “I consider myself lucky to have been part of the very first one that has been created from the Marvel universe. There is such a buzz about the show. There is so much love coming in for the character of Kamala. I am sure it is going to open up doors and it will create more content. There has to be a first and it happens to be now. We should all be thankful that it is happening and we look forward to some more fun times.”
For the unversed, Ms. Marvel has been on the receiving end of a lot of praise and applause for its accurate representation of South Asian culture. Be it inculcating desi references like Shah Rukh Khan’s stardom, Bollywood, India-Pakistan partition, or the soundtrack which includes Nazia Hassan’s Disco Deewane, Ali Sethi’s Pasoori, Tesher’s Jalebi Baby, and much more, the show has been on the forefront of bringing light to South Asia and its pop-culture.
A Canada-based Pakistani actress Iman Vellani plays the lead role of Kamala Khan. Yasmeen Fletcher, Rish Shah, Aramis Knight, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapoor, Sagar Shaikh, and Nimra Bucha are in supporting roles. Furthermore, the show also features Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan in a brief role.
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