‘Growing up I Felt Disconnected From My Culture’: Ms Marvel's Iman Vellani

Iman Vellani, a Marvel superfan born in Karachi, was raised in Toronto with her family.

Iman Vellani in a still from 'Ms Marvel'

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

man Ms Marvel star Iman Vellani, who made her debut as Kamala Khan in the show, opened up about her childhood as a person of colour living in Canada, in an interview with Good Morning America (GMA) on Wednesday, 15 June. The actor plays MCU's first Muslim superhero and she talked about how she relates to the character.

Iman shared that she didn't know representation was something she wanted or something that was missing until she read the comics at the age of 15. "It felt so real. It felt like those comics were written about me and for me and only me. That's how personal the connection was that I felt," Iman said.

Speaking about her childhood as a Pakistani child living in Canada, Iman said that, growing up, she felt quite disconnected from her culture and she was very dismissive about her being Pakistani or being 'brown'.

"I thought it was very embarrassing, even though I grew up with all four of my grandparents, I watched Bollywood movies when I was younger, listened to the songs. But, I didn't see the value in it, and I didn't think it was cool. Because, I was so obsessed with Hollywood and American pop-culture, and I never saw myself represented in that way, I just assumed that those things never went hand in hand."

Iman, added.

She further said that working with so many inspirational South-Asian artistes in Hollywood who are in touch with their roots made her want to reconnect with hers. Talking to Harpers Bazaar, Iman had said that she 'didn't even feel like she was at work' because she felt like she knew the people around her on set.

"I really felt like, "Wow, I know these people." When we were filming scenes like Eid or any of the family dinner scenes, I didn't even feel like I was at work—I felt like I was at one of my own family reunions. Just seeing the sheer amount of Brown people in the Eid scenes, that many people in salwar kameez, it felt so crazy that we were filming a Marvel show."

Iman Vellani to Harpers Bazaar

Talking about her role as Kamala, Iman had told Gracia, “Kamala (Khan) was so easy to embody because I am her. The Iron Man shrine in my room back home is proof. We even share the same philosophy to an extent. Both me and Kamala (Khan) love Tony Stark because that’s the dream, right? As a teenager, why wouldn’t you want to just skip school, get into a little boy trouble, and save the world wearing the coolest gadgets possible.”

Imam, will soon be seen in The Marvels sharing the screen with prominent actors like Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris, among others. The film will hit the theatres in 2023.