Debuting at this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is Iman Zawahry’s feature Americanish, which is about three young women who are searching for the meaning of womanhood, marriage, and figuring out the complexities of pursuing romance for cultural beliefs or feelings. It is an endearing tale about an immigrant Pakistani family who believes that America is the land where dreams come true, or so they thought until their conflicts sprung up and created problems that demand more out of them.
Americanish revolves around two siblings, Sam (Aizzah Fatima) and Maryam (Salena Qureshi), who are polar opposites of each other. Sam is career-driven and does not want to get married, while Maryam is focused on getting into Harvard to become a paediatrician. Their mother, Khala (Lillete Dubey), dreams of her daughters getting married, and when their newly-immigrated cousin, Ameera (Shenaz Treasury) arrives, Khala helps her find an American doctor to marry. When Zane (Mohamed Ameer), who is a cop, takes interest in Sam, she is hesitant but goes on a date with him. Meanwhile, Maryam gets engaged to Shahid (Kapil Talwalkar) and soon after she learns that she has to put his needs before hers and it complicates their relationship and her future career. Ameera gets engaged to an Indian-American doctor of her dreams, but she realises that she has feelings towards Gabriel (Godfrey), a Black convenience store owner.
Zawahry presents new opportunities for South Asian storytelling. While Americanish is a traditional romantic comedy that does fall into cliched narratives, it subverts them by introducing themes of racism, colourism, and the complexities of immigration sentiments. Sam — who works at a public relations office — deals with a racist client, who resembles Trump, and posts anti-immigration and racist sentiments which go against her values. As a Muslim immigrant, Sam believes that the right thing to do is to leave her job. In a white male-dominated workplace, she is the only South Asian woman who works there and hides her cultural background from her client.
As for the youngest woman, Maryam deals with balancing her career and engagement with Shahid. They get engaged almost instantly when they realise that they have the same goals in life. Both of their dreams are to get into Harvard, but only Maryam gets in and soon after their engagement, Shahid makes her choose between him or Harvard. Maryam is expected to put her happiness before her future happiness. It is true that many South Asian cultures and the traditional standards expect women to make sacrifices regarding their education and happiness. Her future husband is the only one that can achieve more in their relationship, and a woman’s happiness is presented as an ultimatum. These kinds of decisions lead to manipulation, abuse, and control, which a lot of women from South Asian countries are subjected to.
In contrast to Maryam’s love life, Sam’s romantic storyline is not invested in as much as the rest of the characters. There are a few scenes between Sam and Zane that introduce their budding romance, but nothing more. Understandably, Sam’s storyline is about her career and her romance is not as important to her, and the lack of romance in her life could be a positive aspect. In some cultures, it is expected of women to get married and have children instead of pursuing a career. Sam’s character subverts these expectations by fully focusing on her career rather than her love life.
As for Ameera, who dreams of getting married to a doctor, she falls in love with Gabriel instead. What is interesting about Ameera and Gabriel’s storyline is the cultural and racial integration of two people, which is unlike what the audience normally sees in South Asian stories. It deals with colourism and anti-Blackness in the diaspora and South Asia, and some scenes discuss these aspects. Khala comments on Ameera’s ‘darkened’ skin tone (she is light-skinned) and suggests remedies to make it lighter. Again, these are issues in the community, particularly towards dark-skinned women who are seen as ‘ugly and undesirable’ for marriage. There is a sense of uneasiness and annoyance between the siblings but they do not raise the issue with their mother.
Throughout the movie, Khala expresses anti-Black sentiments, and they are uncomfortable to watch. Khala insists that Ameera and Gabriel’s backgrounds are different and therefore, their families won’t be able to understand each other. In a scene between Ameera and Gabriel, she is surprised to find out that he is a Muslim. Ameera’s assumption that a person cannot be Black and Muslim is the kind of view that some South Asians believe. For Gabriel, being Black and Muslim is being part of two marginalised communities, and they are often misunderstood. This theme represents the anti-Blackness within the Muslim community and the issues that are unique to each society. It is rare for a Pakistani-American movie to explore these kinds of themes.
As for Maryam, being a Muslim wearing a hijab has its challenges, especially when she is devoted to Islam. Her conflict lies between her hijab and forcing herself to follow Western standards. She is the only woman in the family that wears a hijab, and when her mother insists that she remove her hijab, the one symbol that defines who she is, given the racism against Muslims in America. Her mother believes that removing her hijab might make it easier for her. For Maryam, there is a bit of hesitancy, but she removes it and ultimately reminds herself that her religion is more important than others’ opinions.
Americanish explores the complex intersectionalities of womanhood from the perspective of social, cultural and religious expectations. It’s a relatable romantic comedy that deals with issues that are not normally discussed within the South Asian community. Writers Fatima (who stars as Sam) and Zawahry explore the different concepts of love. In the case of Maryam, she learns that marriage is a partnership of love between two people rather than of convenience. This is common within South Asian communities, and is not particularly exclusive to religion. Even when the characters are Pakistanis, their culture and perspectives are certainly American. The dialogue between the family is heartwarming and excellent, and Fatima, Qureshi, and Treasury have great chemistry, comical rhythm, and delivery between each other. It’s refreshing to watch these woman characters on screen.
Zawahry’s Americanish has so many elements that elevate the story and bring in a positive ending for all of the characters. In the end, the small Pakistani family understands and learns to integrate other cultures, races, and traditions into their tight-woven family. It’s about breaking traditions and introducing new ones so that everyone can respect and love each other. The demands of romance, culture, and family are important too, but for these women, their happiness is to reach their goals.
