Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s popularity is not just limited to the Hindi or Indian film industry and we know that well. SRK’s craze and popularity also exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in a recent exclusive chat with News18, MS Marvel directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah revealed that they are big SRK fans and would love to work with him. Even before the release of this mini-series which sees Iman Vellani as MCU’s first Muslim superhero, it has been trending for the mention of Shah Rukh and his films.
During the conversation, we asked the director duo about Shah Rukh Khan’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “To begin with, Shah Rukh Khan is the biggest star in the world and we are big fans,” said an excited Adil, who was followed by an equally ecstatic Bilall who continued, “He is a legend.”
Adil added that they would love to remake Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Bad Boys for Life with the actor.
“We would love to make Bad Boys remake with SRK but that aside, Shah Rukh Khan was already in the comic book, he was already present. There were references to that and we wanted to do an adaptation of the comic book so that just seems logical that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, South-Asian and Pakistani-Indian characters love Shah Rukh Khan.”
Asked about a possible cameo of the superstar, they replied, “If Shah Rukh Khan wants to be a part of the show, we go back to shooting. We are ready. If he texts us, we go, no doubt.”
With Kamala Khan, Marvel is presenting their first Muslim superhero, hence it becomes crucial to be accurate about the representation of the religion. Asked about the same, Adil explains, “We tried to have what’s already present in the comic books. All these themes and all these aspects were already discussed in the books and that was surprising to us that they really went far and detailed everything. Sana Amanat, who co-created the comic book is herself a Pakistani woman and a producer on the show and she made sure that there was this authentic representation and the nuance, the realistic aspect of it. And we used our own experiences, being Muslims- Moroccans in Belgium as 15-16 years old, we are looking for our identity and we were struggling. At that age, you come into conflict with your parents and also with your environment, and you don’t know what your place is and that is something that is very true to us. But at the same time, it is relatable to everybody because at 15-16 everybody struggles with their parents, no matter what religion or culture you are.”
MS Marvel, starring Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Saagar Shaikh among others is set to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on June 8.
