Mehwish Hayat feels ‘Ms. Marvel’ makes Muslims feel seen

Actor spoke about her character, representation and the comparison between Hollywood and local entertainment industry

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.