The Infidel (2010 film)

''The Infidel'' is a 2010 British comedy film directed by Josh Appignanesi and written by David Baddiel. The film stars Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Yigal Naor and Matt Lucas. It revolves around a British Muslim is spotted during a Free Palestine rally. Mahmud publicly burns the kippah in desperation as a symbol of his supposed hatred of Zionism. Mahmud later attends a Bar Mitzvah with Lenny and unintentionally tells a very crude joke to the audience in broken Yiddish, only to be greeted with laughter from the attendees. Mahmud and Lenny attempt to see Izzy, but the rabbi still refuses to let Mahmud inside when he cannot say his Jewish Sh'ma or name the Five Books of Moses in Hebrew.

Mahmud and Lenny have a bitter argument and Mahmud storms off, vowing to tell his family the truth immediately, but when he gets home, he sees that Arshad, Uzma and their friends are already there. Arshad, impressed with Mahmud's supposed devotion to Islam after having seen him burn the kippah on TV, gives his blessing to Rashid and Uzma's union, but the police arrive, along with the media and a crowd of angry Jews and supportive Muslims, to arrest Mahmud for burning the kippah. In desperation, he yells out in front of everyone that he is Jewish, exonerating him of the crime. A disgusted Arshad leaves with Uzma and his friends.

Mahmud's family leaves him for his dishonesty, one of his colleagues at work resigns, and he starts drinking. He becomes increasingly despondent, but is rescued by Lenny, who saw his announcement on the news. Mahmud goes to the old age home and demands to see his father, but learns that his father has already died. Mahmud is allowed inside Izzy's room where he finds a video of his announcement in Izzy's video machine, which Lenny had sent Izzy. Mahmud's only solace is a sticker on the video with the name "Solly" on it, indicating that even after all these years, Izzy still remembered his long-lost son.

Mahmud appears at Arshad's next rally and delivers a speech on behalf of himself, Jewish citizens and Muslims. Mahmud also tells the crowd of another discovery which he's made: Arshad is actually Gary Page, who staged his own death following his fall from fame after a racist rant while on stage, resurfacing much later with a whole new identity as a devout Muslim cleric. Arshad escapes from the rally, comically dressed in his old Gary Page clothes. Rashid and Uzma are married, with the wedding attended by both Muslims and Jews while Lenny has taken a job with the mostly-Muslim taxi firm at which Mahmud works.

Cast

* Omid Djalili as Mahmud Nasir/Solomon "Solly" Shimshillewitz
* Yigal Naor as Arshad Al-Masri
* Matt Lucas as Rabbi
* Amit Shah as Rashid
* Soraya Radford as Uzma
* Archie Panjabi as Saamiya Nasir
* Richard Schiff as Lenny Goldberg
* Miranda Hart as Mrs Keyes
* David Schneider as Monty
* Tracy-Ann Oberman as Monty's wife
* Mina Anwar as Muna
* James Floyd as Gary Page
* Shobu Kapoor as Kashmina
* Sartaj Garewal as Wasif
* Ricky Sekhon as Hazeem

Production

David Baddiel wrote ''The Infidel'' because he has "always been a fan of life-swap comedy (Big, Trading Places, etc)";
he "think that people are terrified about race and religion, especially issues surrounding Muslims and Jews, and when people are terrified, what they really should do is laugh"; and he "love Omid Djalili and his big funny face. e'shoping that people recognise that underneath the comedy, the message of the film is one of mutual tolerance: if not, e'shoping to find a new identity."

BBC Films helped develop the film's script. They withdrew shortly after the "Sachsgate" scandal, in which the BBC were criticised for offensive content.

Release

The film was released 9 April 2010 in the United Kingdom. Distribution rights to the film were sold to 62 different countries, including many Arab and Muslim countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, Oman, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The film has been shown in Iran but was not picked up by Israeli distributors.

Critical reception

60% of the 25 approved Rotten Tomatoes critics gave the film a positive review.

Stage musical adaptation

A stage musical adaptation with book and lyrics by David Baddiel and music by Ethan Barron Cohen, with additional material and produced by Arvind Ethan David was announced as a Kickstarter project. The musical later opened at the Theatre Royal Stratford East directed by the Artistic Director, Kerry Michael. It ran from 4 October to 3 November 2014, before being extended to 15 November.

Bollywood remake

The film was remade in India with the title of '' Dharam Sankat Mein'' (Crisis of Faith) where the basic premise remains same with a man raised by a Hindu family finding out he was born into a Muslim family.

It starred Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah in the lead roles.

References

External links

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Review of ''The Infidel''
in TC Jewfolk magazine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Infidel
2010 films
2010 comedy films
British comedy films
Films about Jews and Judaism
British Pakistani films
Jewish comedy and humor
Films scored by Erran Baron Cohen
Religious comedy films
Films about Islam
2010s English-language films
2010s British films