By Fatima Arif: Did you have a personal association with the Marvel Universe before getting to work with and who is your personal favorite superhero(s)? “Obviously, the Marvel Universe is something that all of us who have grown up watching blockbuster films are attracted to. I have always believed in superheroes; my entire career has been built on telling stories of ordinary men and women who have superhero qualities as they create change in their communities. “For me growing up I was always a big fan of Spider Man. But more recently Black Panther, because of the way it has changed the way we see superheroes.” How do you see the journey of the character of Kamal Khan from a comic book character to the screen? “The thing about Ms. Marvel as a comic was that when it came out, Kamala Khan was a brown girl from Jersey City who was Muslim and so it was a departure from so much of what Marvel has created of its superheroes over the years. I think that the coming of life of the character from the comic book to the screen has been an interesting transition.” How was the experience working on a project with such a larger-than-life scale? “I have always been a storyteller and have always played with mediums having worked in documentary films, animation, and virtual reality. Going into narrative filmmaking was a remarkable transition because I had a vision for what I wanted for my episodes, the look and the feel, and Marvel gave me the tools to make that a reality. Not every day, you get to work and create a whole world where your vision becomes a reality and a studio backs you and allows you to do what you want.” “There was this moment when I was in the second week of my filming where I was standing on set and looking around and seeing hundreds of people made me realize right there and then that I was going to be a part of something extremely special. As my first narrative directorial debut, I was getting to be a part of something which was going to change the way people see superheroes. I was going to be a part of the birthing of this major superhero.” The impact of film on both the local and global audiences? “Something big is happening and not only for Pakistan but for so many of us from the collective brown community who have grown up wanting to see someone who looks like us, talks like us, wears our clothes, eats what we do, and makes it all look cool. Proudly representing our culture highlights its unique traits and I think Ms. Marvel does that in such an excellent manner. The story is so exciting; her power, her family dynamics, her high school relationships – anybody who has not fit into high school, who has found themselves to be different will fall in love with Kamala Khan.” What you need to know, as Sharmeen said: “Disney + is not available in Pakistan so the cinema screenings are exciting as it will be an opportunity for the local audiences to celebrate and share in the story of Kamal Khan.”
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