Who doesn’t love Indo-Pakistani music? Four musicians discuss Ms Marvel’s soundtrack

When the first episode of Ms. Marvel, the series adapting Marvel comic book superhero Kamala Khan to screen, dropped in early June, the internet was abuzz. In a sequence where Khan — portrayed by 19-year-old Canadian-Pakistani actor Iman Vellani — comedically applies too much gusto to her first driving lesson, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam’s playful vocals in the song ‘Nanba’ caught everyone’s ear. What was a Tamil song from the Rajinikanth-starrer Lingaa doing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe production?

It was the first of many reveals in terms of Indian, Pakistani and even Bangladeshi-origin artistes contributing to the soundtrack of Ms. Marvel, which concluded its first season last month on Disney+. From Nazia Hassan’s evergreen ‘Disco Deewane’ and Krewella and Nervo’s ‘Goddess’ (ft Raja Kumari), to Coke Studio Pakistan hits like ‘Pasoori’ by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, and background music work by Chennai artiste M.S. Krsna, Ms. Marvel has put South Asian music — modern, yesteryear and traditional — in the spotlight in a whole new way.

‘Aavegi’ rides the airwaves

When Mumbai/Pune artiste Ritviz Srivastava’s songs ‘Sage’ and ‘Thandi Hawa’ made it to an episode, and the Twitterati took note, he was quick to tweet: “What if I told you there’s more.” ‘Aavegi’, a song he exclusively created for the show, hit the airwaves as the closing credits tune for the show’s final episode, making it a special launch for the singer-producer. 

For the younger, new generation of artistes whose music is featured on the show, it’s a step up to global recognition. When asked about appropriately representing the music, art and culture of India, Pakistan and the desi diaspora, Srivastava says, “I think they nailed it. Especially for it to be a Marvel project, to have that kind of scale, and just give South Asian acts that push and representation, they really did a splendid job with that.”

Srivastava came on board after interacting with Ms. Marvel co-creator Sana Amanat. She had reached out nearly three years ago, even before the pandemic. “While I was preparing the song [‘Aavegi’], I didn’t know where they were going to use it,” he says, adding he only had “visual context” closer to the end, when he wrapped up the song. “Sana explained everything about the character and what she [Kamala Khan] was about. Then we had a little more visual context to play with and the last couple of months is when it came together. It’s been a pretty epic journey.”

Inclusivity and more sync

The way New York-based composer Atif Afzal aka A-Zal sees it, this is part of the diversity and inclusivity movements that the U.S. creative industries have embraced over the last few years. Of course, it helps that he has had his foot in the door, working with Marvel for Loki last year on a Moroccan-influenced song. But his track ‘Aye Khuda’ — with his father and lyricist Aslam Afzal, who made his Marvel debut at the age of 69 — has broken new ground. “When I started my first interactions with Marvel, I didn’t know that they would ever want anything related to Bollywood and the Indian subcontinent.” Now he says, “There’s this huge reaction that I’m getting, which was totally unexpected. Maybe it’s got to do with the backdrop of having people from our region.” 

Pakistani-origin Canadian producer Khanvict — whose song ‘Closer’ and a remix of A.R. Rahman’s ‘Tere Bina’ from the movie Guru were used in the six-episode series — adds, “I thought it [the music and the diaspora culture depicted] was brilliant. As a Pakistani immigrant I could relate with so much of the family dynamic and it was wholesome to see my culture represented in a positive light on a major media outlet, which has not been very common in recent times.”

Ms. Marvel’s ripple effect is widening. Khanvict says his upcoming single ‘Your Love’ might be in a movie or TV show soon, while Srivastava hints at more sync projects.

Highlighting the diaspora

Meanwhile, the show’s narration of Partition and the tumultuous 1940s for the subcontinent remain conversation-starters — of how historic events can be woven into an alternate reality with superheroes. Early criticism, especially from an older male audience who couldn’t appreciate a teenaged girl of colour as a protagonist, were drowned out by positive reviews ( The Guardian called it ‘a glorious debut for the MCU’s first Muslim superhero’) and praise for its soundtrack. Jai Wolf’s ‘Indian Summer’, which played over the final sequence, was a crowd pleaser. The runaway hit from the Bangladeshi-American producer, which was released in 2015 (and previously placed in several shows, including How To Get Away with Murder), gained new wings in Ms. Marvel. “I think the best thing about the soundtrack is that after a really dark history post-British Partition, they were able to include Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi music all on one soundtrack,” he says.

We’ll likely see more inclusivity and diversity in Hollywood projects. Fans have already begun speculating whether desi artistes will feature in the next MCU offering, The Marvels, a movie which ties together the story arc of Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel. Jai Wolf shares that for him, “the historical significance is very important and serves a greater purpose of moving our culture forward as a whole and highlights a wide spectrum of artistes across the South Asian diaspora as well as native South Asian people”.

The writer is a Bengaluru-based independent music journalist.