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One need only look at the massive following of both Borat films to understand just how popular this character really is, with each film serving as a scathing social commentary that targets various questionable facets of society in a truly unique and hilarious manner that needs to be seen to be truly understood.
Given the unscripted and insane manner in which the movie is shot, it’s only a given that there are various tidbits of interesting trivia surrounding both these movies that most fans wouldn’t be aware of. The following ten things, in particular, are certainly… very nice.
10 The Cops, The FBI, And Even Civilians Had Borat In Their Crosshairs
Given the fact that Sasha Baron Cohen was pretty much winging it as Borat without telling anyone about his shenanigans, it was only a given that the law would’ve been contacted several times.
During the filming of the first movie, the police were contacted a whopping 92 times! Along with this, the FBI also started tailing Borat after receiving word of a suspicious middle-eastern man driving around the Midwest in an ice-cream truck.
However, perhaps the most dangerous of these incidents happened during the second movie, when the crowd found out that Sasha Baron Cohen was pretending to be Country Steve. Since the actor had hired his own security, he was able to escape the stage before the mob could reach him.
9 The Languages In The Movie Are Hilariously Out Of Place
In a bid to point out the fact that every foreign language sounds similar to Americans, the languages used in Borat are inconsistent on purpose. Azamat’s “Kazakhstani” lines are actually spoken in Armenian, Borat’s sons say their lines in Romanian, Nursultan Tulyakbay — Borat’s irritating neighbor — spoke in Croatian, and Tutar’s choice of language was Bulgarian.
What about Borat himself? Well, Sasha Baron Cohen admitted in an interview that he just hammed up an accent and spoke in Hebrew!
8 The First Film Was A Huge Hit In Israel
One can attribute Sasha Baron Cohen’s choice of language as one of the major reasons why Borat was such a massive hit in Israel, ironically enough. Cohen’s lines in Hebrew were quite hilarious and his satire served as a commentary on anti-semitism as well, among other things. All these facts helped Borat become a surprise hit in this country.
7 Many Notable Personalities Wrote Some Of The Scenes
The first movie actually has scenes written by Seth Rogen and Patton Oswalt, even though both their writing contributions are uncredited.
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Meanwhile, friends of Sasha Baron Cohen such as Johnny Depp, George Clooney, and Steve Martin even went so far as to call the actor in a bid to secure a cameo in Borat. However, this idea was rejected by Cohen himself, who thought that the humor would lose its effect if people were in on it.
6 The Spoofed Kazakhistan Anthem Was Played During A Competitive Shooting Event
An unfortunately hilarious event occurred during the Arab Shooting Championships in Kuwait after a Kazakisthani by the name of Maria Dmitrienko ended up winning the gold medal at this event.
During the awards ceremony, the Asian Olympic Committee accidentally played the spoof anthem from Borat, which left Kazakisthanis perplexed and angry at this indignation. However, the right anthem was played soon after, and the committee ended up taking extra steps to ensure that such a goof-up wouldn’t happen in the future.
5 Sasha Baron Cohen Actually Stayed With The Two Conservatives In Borat 2 For Five Days Without Breaking Character
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was a great sequel that ended up addressing some of the topical issues in America… including the rather controversial tenure of President Trump.
In a bid to get some material, Sasha Baron Cohen actually ended up staying with two nice-hearted conservatives over the span of five days without breaking character. The amount of dedication this took must’ve been intense.
4 Jeanise Jones Had No Idea That Borat And Tutar Were Fictional Characters
One of the best characters in the second Borat film is a babysitter by the name of Jeanise Jones, who ends up feeling completely perplexed at the idea of a father treating her daughter like dirt. She ended up having a brilliant heart to heart with Tutar which cements her as a genuinely decent person.
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The fact that Jones had no idea that both Sasha Baron Cohen and Maria Bakalova — the actor who portrayed Tutar — were playing fictional roles makes this moment even more amazing.
3 The Village From The First Movie Was Absent In The Second Because The Villagers Felt Wronged
Borat 2 had to shoot its intro in a new village due to the tensions that arose in the first area, a village by the name of Glod. Aside from the fact that these villagers were essentially duped by the filmmakers, the people also felt cheated at only being paid £3 to be featured in the movie. The local community at one point was even threatening to sue the filmmakers.
2 Borat’s Clothing Isn’t Washed So That He Could “Smell” Foreign
A rather interesting, and somewhat disgusting, fact about Borat’s outfit was the fact that the crew never washed the character’s clothes. Yes, this even included his underwear. The reason they did this was to ensure that his “smell” was foreign.
One can only wonder just how badly Sasha Baron Cohen would’ve wanted to take a shower after every take.
1 The Character Is Based On A Russian Doctor Sasha Baron Cohen Met Once
Given the eccentric nature of Borat’s character, it’s rather sad that the character he’s based on isn’t really all that interesting — though he does sound like a hilarious person, regardless.
Sasha Baron Cohen has stated that Borat was actually based on a Russian doctor he met once, who was unintentionally one of the funniest men he’d ever met in his life.
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