Four Weddings and a Cool Muslim Woman Character?!

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By Fareeha Molvi

(This post was originally published to Instagram on January 27, 2021)

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to discuss “Four Weddings and a Funeral” on Hulu. Amid all the tired rom-com tropes in this 10-episode series, there were also some significant storylines. The show follows an ethnically diverse ensemble cast of characters as they navigate love, relationships and heartbreak. One such character is Kash Khan (Nikesh Patel), a British South Asian Muslim banker who aspires to be an actor. 

After breaking his engagement with a white girl, Kash experiments with “traditional Muslim dating” at the suggestion of his father because…of course. I was wary that this storyline could end up in problematic territory a la “The Big Sick,” casting the process of being set up through the mosque or parents as foreign, backwards and undesirable. 

But the show did a refreshing job of balancing Kash’s justifiable reservations of the process with the other characters’ acceptance for what it is: just another type of set-up. 

Kash’s counterpart is Fatima (Rakhee Thakrar), a relatable, witty accountant with a penchant for froyo. You’d think portraying Muslim women in this way would be commonplace by now, but alas (see: “The Big Sick”). Complying with tradition, Fatima and Kash get to know each other through a series of dates chaperoned by Fatima’s firecracker grandma and Kash’s best bud (Guz Khan). The rapport between the characters is funny and adorable. It feels like everyone acknowledges the awkwardness of the situation but it’s not a deal-breaker. 

In one of the realest scenes I’ve seen on TV, Kash and Fatima share a rare moment alone where there is an opportunity to “cross boundaries.” I’m not going to lie, I was bracing myself for a cringey, lean-in-for-the-kiss moment. But Fatima reminds them that they both committed to getting to know each other within a certain traditional context. She acknowledges that she’s not “proud of the dreams” she’s been having but stands her ground nonetheless. It’s not often that Muslim women characters are shown retaining agency over their bodies AND their beliefs, while also not being put on a pedestal of purity.  

Though it was a minor sub-plot, I love that Kash and Fatima’s story was not siloed to a niche Muslim/brown show. Rather, their romance lived alongside the “mainstream” entanglements of the other non-brown characters. 

Check out the Instagram post to see the moment for yourself.