Kazakhstan spoof doesn't bother Leaf forward
But country's president isn't amused by comic

KEVIN MCGRAN
SPORTS REPORTER

Nik Antropov, Toronto's best-known Kazakh, thinks his home country needs to develop a sense of humour when it comes to Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhstan TV reporter.

The creation of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat skewers Kazakhstan as a backward, disgusting, squalid, impoverished, Third World finishing school for prostitutes where horses pull automobiles and cows live in the family home.

"It's not true, first off, but it's funny," said the Maple Leaf winger, whose mood lightened at the mere mention of Borat. "It could be any country but for some reason he picked Kazakhstan. For me, personally, I don't care."

Borat is misogynistic, homophobic, racist, sexist, anti-Semitic — and funny. But not everybody appreciates the satire, including Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who arrives in Washington today for a state visit.

Tired of being the butt of a global joke, Nazarbayev's government spent $40 million producing a film, Nomad, to counteract the impression left by the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Antropov hasn't seen the Borat movie, but watches Da Ali G Show that launched the Borat phenomenon.

"It's funny," said Antropov, who understands why other Kazakhs are less charitable. "Everybody's opinion is different."

Borat conducts satirical interviews with subjects who don't know the full nature of what's being filmed and are obviously uninformed about Kazakh culture. Some embrace his misogyny and anti-Semitism, some are simply stupefied by what he says or too polite to say anything about it before the cameras.

"It's against the Kazakh people," said Antropov. "But he's a comedian and you have to look at his side. He has to make his money."

The Kazakh government is protesting the movie's release, yanked the website http://www.borat.kz and has threatened to sue Baron Cohen, who grew up in Wales in an Orthodox Jewish family, for his portrayal of Kazakh life.

Responding in character, "Borat" disavows any connection with Baron Cohen and "fully supports my government's decision to sue this Jew."

But of course, Borat goes further, saying reforms instituted in 2003 means "women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old. Please, captain of industry; I invite you to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resources, hardworking labour, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of central Asia."

Antropov laughs it all off, but doesn't mind fixing a few misconceptions. Fishing and hunting are among Kazakhs' favourite hobbies. And as for Borat, "there is no such name in Kazakh," he said.