Kumail Nanjiani: We haven’t seen superheroes who look like us

Updated On: 31 October, 2021 07:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar Basu

As MCU presents South Asian and deaf superheroes with Eternals, Kumail Nanjiani and Lauren Ridloff say on-screen representation should have happened long ago

A still from Eternals. Pics/Instagram

With the new Marvel movie Eternals, it’s evident that representation and diversity are not mere stray conversations in the movie business. It’s showing on the screens and behind the camera. That’s the thought with which we start our early morning chat with Kumail Nanjiani and Lauren Ridloff, who play superheroes alongside Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden and Gemma Chan in Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao’s film. This might be a heavy-duty conversation for a 5 am chat, but both are only happy to indulge, having fought the good fight. “We haven’t seen superheroes who look like us, sound like us, or have names like ours. I am thrilled to be part of a change that ideally should have happened a long time ago,” says Nanjiani of The Big Sick (2017) fame.

Kumail Nanjiani and Lauren Ridloff