Citizen Khan Series 1-5 (2012-2016) - Review
Starring: Adil Ray, Shobu Kapoor, Maya Sondhi & Bhavna Limbachia
Written By: Anil Gupta, Richard Pinto & Adil Ray
Directed By: (Various)
Certificate: 12
I
can just about remember when I first watched the original series of
Citizen Khan. It was in a relatively late 10:30pm
timeslot, and I remember really enjoying it. So when the television
trailers for a second series first dropped, I decided to read up a
bit more about the show online, and learnt that it was one of the
first Muslim-centric comedies the BBC had commissioned. I also learnt
that over seven hundred complaints had been made about the show, with
some saying that it insults or ridicules Islam. Now if there's one
thing I don't ever remember thinking when I first watched, it's that
the show was in any way offensive. But now that I'm looking at it
with a fresh set of eyes, do these complaints raise a valid point, or
is this just another case of controversy for the sake of it?
Citizen
Khan follows
the lives of the Khan family living in Sparkhill, Birmingham, and
headed by the self-appointed community leader … Mr Khan. Loud,
old-fashioned and with a love of Pakistan and cricket, Mr Khan
aspires to become a successful Pakistani businessman, and make an
impression on the officials at his local Mosque. However, his
ambitions are often in conflict with providing for his family, the
long-suffering Mrs Khan and their two daughters, Shazia and Alia, as
well as paying for Shazia's upcoming wedding.
Because
it's been a source of controversy for the show, let's first off
address the show's depiction of Muslims. It's proved quite divisive,
with the show's detractors calling it backwards and stereotypical,
with Adil Ray reporting that he's even received a number of death
threats. While I can sort of see where people are coming from when
they call Citizen Khan backwards or stereotypical, I
respectfully have to disagree. Yes, Citizen Khan is a
Muslim-centric comedy, but crucially it's made with love and laughs
with Muslims rather than at them. I'll admit the show also features a
number of cultural stereotypes, such as Mr Khan putting the Pakistani
flag on his (yellow Mercedes) car and in the windows of his home,
describing Sparkhill, Birmingham as the capital of “British
Pakistan”, as well as his obsession with cricket and being a
successful businessman. Meanwhile, Mrs Khan always seems determined
not to bring shame on her family, whilst also trying to have a big
successful wedding for her daughter. But once again, if you look deep
enough, you can see that Citizen Khan isn't trying to
reinforce these stereotypes, but is actually looking at them and
laughing with us at how ridiculous they are.
With
that out of the way, what can we say about Mr Khan and his family
themselves? Writer, creator and Mr Khan actor, Adil Ray, makes the
Khan family characters that have a universal appeal. The make-up used
to age and transform Adil Ray into Mr Khan is fantastic, and before I
started seeing him in other TV appearances, I never would have
guessed that he was actually only around forty years old. Mr Khan
himself is a great embodiment of the show's tone and comedy style –
cheeky, old-fashioned and with a good dose of proper British
silliness. The rest of Mr Khan's family make up some great characters
too. Shobu Kapoor is great as Mr Khan's long-suffering wife who
always wants the best for her family, while their eldest daughter,
Shazia, can speak to anyone who may feel overshadowed by a sibling or
who may have to endure an embarrassing relative, but someone that
they still love. Younger daughter Alia is a somewhat exaggerated
representation of younger British Muslims, but even though she's
clearly exaggerated for comic effect, to say that there's no
comparisons to be found between her and some people I went to school
with would be a lie. Rounding off the family we have son-in-law
Amjad, who brings a certain sweetness and innocence to the show, and
in later series, they are joined by baby Mohammed (or Mo) who is just
completely adorable.
I'm
not about to say that Citizen Khan is one of the
funniest or even one of the best comedies I've ever watched, but I've
not yet encountered an episode where I haven't laughed. It may not
reach the absolute hilarity of some other BBC comedies, but it still
always keeps things light-hearted and fun. That isn't to say it
doesn't occasionally push its own boundaries and allow for a slightly
more edgy moment – one of the most memorable for me being Mr Khan
attempting to explain the birds and the bees to Alia with a rather
saucy cricket analogy. The show also borrows quite a bit from some
slightly older comedy greats, leading many people to comment that the
show is reminiscent of a 70s or 80s sitcom. There's certainly merit
to be had in saying that, with just Mr Khan's yellow Mercedes and
suit alone looking like its come straight from the 70s. There are
also times where Mr Khan can show some vague Del Boy-ish traits, and
given that Only Fools & Horses is my favourite ever
comedy, that's definitely a compliment.
The
BBC can often find themselves under fire for only producing content
that features middle class characters, or for not really setting many
of their shows outside of London. However, Citizen Khan
thankfully can't be accused of doing this, as the Khans are a
grounded, working class family that stays faithful to and never lets
you forget its Birmingham setting. Setting the series in Birmingham
does make it personally close to home for me, as while I don't live
in Birmingham, I'm still a West Midlander and I'm only a twenty
minute train ride away. It was nice to hear that my home city of
Wolverhampton still got a mention from Mr Khan though, even if we
were described as “the underprivileged, the weak, the
downtrodden and those who have lost all hope”. Thanks Mr Khan!
In
all seriousness though, while I do really enjoy and have a laugh with
Citizen Khan, I've made it clear that it isn't a
perfect comedy and it does have a few issues. One problem I did start
to pick up on by about the end of the second series, is that the show
often falls into the trap of having a repetitive structure for each
episode, which makes the plot very predictable. The majority of
Citizen Khan episodes follow a structure somewhat like
this: Mr Khan is either about to start a new venture, or enjoy
something that he's been wanting to do, but his family wants to do
something else and their interests clash. Mr Khan will then likely do
something wrong or fail to do what he's been asked by his family, and
then spend time trying to avoid it or cover it up. In the last five
or ten minutes, he will be forced to confront his family, admit he
was wrong and try and do something to make up for it. Now there's
nothing wrong with that structure, but when you start seeing it again
and again, it takes away from some of the show's comedic surprise.
The series overall also suffers a similar problem to fellow BBC
comedy, Not Going Out, specifically its inconsistent
pacing and progression. Amjad and Shazia end up spending about three
series in love and preparing for their wedding, before finally
getting married at the end of Series 3. The Christmas special that
follows Series 3, and that was originally broadcast just five days
later, sees a heavily pregnant Shazia give birth. To go from three
series of preparing for marriage to having a child just one episode
later feels rushed, and as though they may have skipped on a lot of
potential material for other episodes.
It
may have its problems and it certainly isn't the best comedy I've
ever watched, but I still really enjoy Citizen Khan,
and I honestly don't get why it seems to have had an air of
controversy placed around it. This is tame compared to some other
comedies you can find! Right now, with religious and racial tensions
at a depressing high, Citizen Khan's silliness, fun and
quirky, distinct Britishness puts it in a position where it can do a
lot of good. Being able to have a harmless laugh at our own culture,
as well as the culture of others is one of many things that can help
break down boundaries and barriers, heal division and eliminate
anyone having superiority over another. Like I've said, in this
current and very worrying climate, this is just the kind of thing we
need.
Citizen Khan
7/10