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Netflix Dance Comedy Faces Backlash Over Kabul Plane Joke
A Netflix comedy includes a joke about people rushing toward the last plane leaving Kabul.
Many people, especially Afghans, say the joke is hurtful because it refers to a real tragedy.
In August 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul.
Thousands of people then crowded an airport runway while trying to leave.
Some people held onto a departing military plane and fell from it.
A teenage Afghan footballer named Zaki Anwari was among those who died.
Journalist Shabnam Nasimi criticized the film and its creators for using the event casually.
The movie is about friends competing in a Bollywood-style college dance competition.
Netflix’s Best Of The Best is facing backlash over a joke comparing romantic attention to the “last plane out of Kabul.”
The line is spoken by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s character, Maya Krishnaraj, to a female friend.
Afghan journalist Shabnam Nasimi and others said the dialogue trivializes the trauma surrounding the 2021 fall of Kabul.
The August 2021 airport evacuation included people clinging to a departing military plane, with some falling to their deaths.
Directed by Lena Khan and co-written by Hasan Minhaj, the film follows a collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance team and was released on Netflix on September 18, 2026.
- Who
- Netflix, director Lena Khan, co-writers Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and critics including Shabnam Nasimi.
- What
- Best Of The Best is facing backlash over dialogue comparing people pursuing romantic attention to the “last plane out of Kabul.”
- Where
- The film is set around UCLA’s collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance circuit, while the historical events occurred in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- When
- The film was released on September 18, 2026; the dialogue refers to events beginning August 15, 2021.
- Why
- Critics say the line casually invokes and trivializes the trauma of the 2021 airport evacuation and deaths.
Critics of the Dialogue
Film’s Stated Creative Context
Use of the Kabul reference
Critics of the Dialogue
Critics, including Shabnam Nasimi, say the line uses a devastating historical event casually and turns Afghan suffering into a punchline.
Film’s Stated Creative Context
The film was presented as a celebration of South Asian American identity and was created by Muslim American creatives, according to the criticism discussing the filmmakers’ stated context.
Representation and responsibility
Critics of the Dialogue
Critics argue that creators who share South Asian or Muslim identities should stand up for Afghans rather than make fun of their trauma.
Film’s Stated Creative Context
The available material describes the film’s identity-focused purpose but does not include a direct response from Netflix, Lena Khan, Hasan Minhaj, or the cast to the backlash.
Key facts
- Film
- Best Of The Best
- Platform
- Netflix
- Director
- Lena Khan
- Writers
- Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam
- Controversial dialogue
- “Guys throw themselves at you like you're the last plane out of Kabul.”
- Release date
- September 18, 2026
- Historical event
- The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, 2021, followed by a chaotic airport evacuation.
Quotes
Shabnam Nasimi
Afghan journalist, storyteller and mental-health clinician
“Minhaj said they have made the film as a celebration of South Asian American identity. Khan and Minhaj are both Muslim American creatives. They both have made careers on demanding Hollywood.”
NDTV
“So, let's stop lying about Brown Muslim representation. The very community who should stand up for the people of Afghanistan are making fun of them.”
NDTV
Maya Krishnaraj, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
Lead character in the Netflix comedy dance film
“Guys throw themselves at you like you're the last plane out of Kabul.”
NDTV
Sources
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