Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Igal Naor | ... | Arshad El-Masri | |
Stewart Scudamore | ... | Tariq | |
Omid Djalili | ... | Mahmud Nasir | |
James Krishna Floyd | ... | Gary Page (as James Floyd) | |
Archie Panjabi | ... | Saamiya Nasir | |
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Leah Fatania | ... | Nabi Nasir |
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Stuart Antony | ... | Drummer |
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Scott Walters | ... | Delivery Guy |
Mina Anwar | ... | Muna | |
Amit Shah | ... | Rashid Nasir | |
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Soraya Radford | ... | Uzma |
Ravin J. Ganatra | ... | Fahad (as Ravin Ganatra) | |
Christian Lees | ... | Bar Mitzvah Twin Louis | |
Jonah Lees | ... | Bar Mitzah Twin Sammi | |
Richard Schiff | ... | Lenny Goldberg |
Based in a London suburb Mahmud Nasir lives with his pretty wife, Saamiya, and two children, Rashid and Nabi. His son plans to marry Uzma, the step-daughter of Egyptian-born Arshad Al-Masri, a so-called 'Hate Cleric' from Waziristan, Pakistan. Mahmud, who is not exactly a devout Muslim, he drinks alcohol, and does not pray five times, but does agree that he will appease Arshad, without whose approval the marriage cannot take place. Shortly thereafter Mahmud, while going over his recently deceased mother's documents, will find out that he was adopted, his birth parents were Jewish, and his name is actually Solly Shimshillewitz. He conceals this information from his family, and with the help of his neighbor, Leonard Goldberg, tries to understand the Jews, their religion and even locates his birth-father, who is on his death-bed in a nursing home. Mahmud does not know that Arshad has been checking into his background, has videotaped him setting fire to a Jewish cap during a protest, and ... Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
After a long time, I get the chance to see another charming little British comedy in the form of David Baddiel's 'The Infidel'. In times like this, when there is so much tension in the world between people of different religious backgrounds, 'The Infidel' has come at the right time. But while the film has a relevant message addressing the tension between Muslims and Jews, at heart, it's a comedy. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and the cultural and religious clashes are hilariously depicted. Directorially Josh Apignanessi has done a fine. Baddiel's writing is sharp and his original story is well displayed on screen. Omid Djalili is remarkable as Mahmud, the Muslim who doesn't pray fives times a day, who doesn't fast every day of Ramadan and who occasionally has a(n alcoholic) drink, but whose world is shattered when he discovers that his biological parents are Jews. Archie Punjabi looks a little too young to play the mother of a twenty-something young man. Otherwise she is terrific with a laidback performance as Mahmud's wife. Richard Schiff is hilarious as he once again depicts his flair for dry humour.
'The Infidel' gets a little dramatic in the pre-ending sequences. Sometimes it's a tad too preachy. However, there are plenty of laugh out loud moments to keep one thoroughly entertained. Cleverly written, well directed, wonderfully acted, 'The Infidel' is tickling entertainment.