Netflix show, Best Of The Best, directed by Lena Khan and co-written by comedian Hasan Minhaj, has been caught in the eye of a storm over making fun of the dialogue “Last Plane Out Of Kabul”, triggering sharp trauma for the people of Afghanistan. The line was used casually by the lead actor of the show, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, as Maya Krishnaraj, saying to one of her female friends, “Guys throw themselves at you like you’re the last plane out of Kabul.”
A large section of the internet, including journalist and storyteller of Afghanistan, Persia, South Asia and beyond Shabnam Nasimi, a mental health clinician, strongly opposed the insensitive line for using it “casually” without understanding its historical context and trivialising its emotional implications for the people of Afghanistan.
Shabnam Nasimi began the video saying, “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.”
“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,” she signs off.
What Happened On August 15, 2021
Shabnam Nasimi mentioned the historical background of what happened on August 15, 2021, and why it hurt deeply for the community.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban walked into Kabul.
The next morning, thousands of people poured onto the runway of an airport and chased an American military plane as it took off. Some of them held onto the wheels, and some of them fell from the sky.
One of them was Zaki Anwari, a 17-year-old footballer on Afghanistan’s national youth team. Ten days later, a suicide bomber hit the airport gate and killed hundreds of people.
People died queuing with their documents in their hands.
Another viral Instagram post read, “The world watched Afghans surround departing aircraft. Some clung to the outside of a US military plane and fell to their deaths after takeoff.”
About The Film
Best of the Best is an American comedy dance film directed by Lena Khan from a screenplay by Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, about the competitive collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance circuit.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia star as childhood friends Maya and Anjali, who join UCLA’s Bollywood-fusion dance team and compete in a national dance competition. It also features an ensemble cast including Chaneil Kular, Ankur Rathee, Lilly Singh, Janina Gavankar and Minhaj.
Produced by 186K Films and Rideback, it was released on Netflix on September 18, 2026.