'Very Nice!': Kazakhstan Taps New Borat Movie to Woo Tourists

Kazakhstan has adopted the catchphrase of the fictional character, Borat, to promote tourism in the country. (AP)
Kazakhstan has adopted the catchphrase of the fictional character, Borat, to promote tourism in the country. (AP)
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'Very Nice!': Kazakhstan Taps New Borat Movie to Woo Tourists

Kazakhstan has adopted the catchphrase of the fictional character, Borat, to promote tourism in the country. (AP)
Kazakhstan has adopted the catchphrase of the fictional character, Borat, to promote tourism in the country. (AP)

Ridiculed once again in a film featuring fictional Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev, the ex-Soviet state of Kazakhstan has embraced the joke this time round and adopted Borat’s catch phrase to try to attract tourists.

“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” a follow-up to a 2006 film featuring the same sexist and racist character, was released on Amazon Prime last week.

Like the first film, the movie has Borat on the rampage in the United States where he tries to trick US politicians and others into letting their guard down and compromising themselves.

Borat’s first outing caused anger in Kazakhstan where authorities discouraged its screening and threatened legal action over what they saw as an insult to their national character.

This time round, they have taken a different approach and adopted Borat’s catchphrase “Very Nice!” to try to promote tourism in the vast Central Asian country.

In a slick video released by the tourism board featuring spectacular mountains and lakes, an exotic food market, and futuristic-looking cityscapes, a series of foreign tourists use the catch phrase to signal their appreciation for what they are seeing.

The idea to use Borat’s catch phrase belongs to Dennis Keen, a US citizen living in Kazakhstan, who is married to a Kazakh woman and has a business running walking tours.

“It was something I’d been thinking about for years as everyone who comes here is aware of the Borat thing being attached to the country’s brand,” Keen told Reuters.

Borat’s “Very Nice!” catch phase could be put to good use instead, he said.

“It’s actually the perfect description of the country in the most sincere way. The people and the food are very nice.”

COVID-19 means tourism in Kazakhstan has been hard hit by travel restrictions and border closures like many other countries.

But Kairat Sadvakassov, Deputy Chairman of Kazakh Tourism, said he hoped the campaign would help people see that Borat’s jokes about the country were off target when the situation improved.

“We would like everyone to come experience Kazakhstan for themselves by visiting our country in 2021 and beyond, so that they can see that Borat’s homeland is nicer than they may have heard,” Sadvakassov said in a news release.

Still, Kazakh authorities remain unimpressed with the film.

In a statement issued by the foreign ministry on Saturday, officials said the new movie was racist and xenophobic, but that an official protest was pointless because it would only generate more publicity and profits for the film’s makers.



A Timeline of the Rise and Fall of Sean 'Diddy' Combs 

Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)
Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)
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A Timeline of the Rise and Fall of Sean 'Diddy' Combs 

Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)
Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)

For more than two decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs was one of hip-hop's most opportunistic entrepreneurs, spinning his hitmaking talents into a broad business empire that included a record label, a fashion brand, a TV network, deals with companies and a key role in a reality TV show.

But US prosecutors say behind the scenes, Combs was coercing and abusing women with assistance from a network of associates who helped silence victims through blackmail and violence.

Combs has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Opening statements in his trial are expected Monday.

Here is a timeline of major events in his rise and fall:

1990: Combs, then a student at Howard University, gets his start in the music business with an internship at Uptown Records in New York.

Dec. 28, 1991: Nine people die at a celebrity basketball game promoted by Combs and the rapper Heavy D when thousands of fans try to get into a gym at the City College of New York. A mayoral report lays part of the blame for the catastrophe on poor planning by Combs.

1992: Combs is one of the executive producers on “What's the 411?”, the debut album by Mary J. Blige.

1993: After being fired by Uptown, Combs establishes his own label, Bad Boy, which quickly cuts a lucrative deal with Arista Records.

1994: Bad Boy releases Notorious B.I.G.'s album “Ready to Die.” Two months later, Tupac Shakur survives a shooting in New York and accuses Combs and Biggie of having prior knowledge of the attack, which they deny. Shakur was later killed in a 1996 shooting in Las Vegas.

1996: Combs is convicted of criminal mischief after he allegedly threatened a photographer with a gun.

1997: Biggie is killed in Los Angeles. Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, releases “I'll be Missing You” in honor of his slain star.

1998: Combs wins two Grammys, one for best rap album for his debut “No Way Out” and another for best rap performance by a duo or group for “I'll Be Missing You” with Faith Evans. Also that year, Combs' Sean John fashion line is founded.

April 16, 1999: Combs and his bodyguards are charged with attacking Interscope Records music executive Steve Stoute in his New York office in a dispute over a music video. Combs is sentenced to an anger management course.

Dec. 27, 1999: Combs is arrested on gun possession charges after he and his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez, fled a shooting that wounded three people at a New York City nightclub. Some witnesses tell police Combs was among the people shooting in the club. He is later charged with offering his driver $50,000 to claim ownership of the 9 mm handgun found in his car.

March 17, 2001: Combs is acquitted of all charges related to the nightclub shooting. One of his rap proteges, Jamal “Shyne” Barrows, is convicted in the shooting and serves nearly nine years in prison. Two weeks after the trial, Combs announces he wants to be known as P. Diddy.

2002: Combs becomes the producer and star of “Making the Band,” a talent search TV show.

Feb. 1, 2004: Combs performs at the Super Bowl halftime show along with Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and others. A week later, Combs, Nelly and Murphy Lee win a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group for “Shake Ya Tailfeather.”

April 2004: Combs makes his Broadway acting debut in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

2005: Combs announces he is changing his stage name to Diddy, getting rid of the P.

March 2008: Combs settles a lawsuit brought by a man who claims Combs punched him after a post-Oscar party outside a Hollywood hotel the previous year. In May, Combs is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2015: Combs is arrested after a confrontation on the campus of UCLA, where one of his sons played football. Assault charges are later dropped.

2016: Combs launches a Harlem charter school, the Capital Preparatory School. Also that year, he announces he is donating $1 million to Howard University.

2017: Combs is named the top earner on Forbes' list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, which says he brought in $130 million in a single year.

2018: Kim Porter, Combs' former girlfriend and the mother of three of his children, dies from pneumonia at age 47.

2022: Combs receives a lifetime honor at the BET Awards.

Sept. 15, 2023: Combs releases “The Love Album — Off the Grid,” his first solo studio project since 2006's chart-topping “Press Play.”

Nov. 16, 2023: R&B singer Cassie sues Combs, alleging he subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. A day later, the lawsuit is settled under undisclosed terms. Combs, through his attorney, denies the accusations.

Nov. 23, 2023: Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits. Combs' attorneys call the allegations false. Dozens of additional lawsuits follow by women and men who accuse Combs of rape, sexual assault and other attacks. Plaintiffs include singer Dawn Richard, a “Making the Band” contestant who alleged years of psychological and physical abuse. Combs denies all the allegations.

March 25, 2024: Federal agents search Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida.

May 17, 2024: CNN airs video that shows Combs attacking and beating Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. Two days later, Combs posts videos on social media apologizing for the assault.

Sept. 16, 2024: Combs is arrested at his Manhattan hotel. A sex trafficking and racketeering indictment unsealed the next day accuses him of using his business empire to coerce women into participating in sexual performances. Combs denies the allegations. His attorney calls it an unjust prosecution of an “imperfect person.”

May 5, 2025: Jury selection began for Combs' trial.