While a certain demographic of the audience that lovesBoratandBoratSubsequentMoviefilmmight completely miss the progressive satire embedded intoSacha Baron Cohen’s problematic-on-purpose Kazakhstan journalist character journeys, the breakout star ofBorat 2,Maria Bakalova(Tutar, Borat’s daughter), appreciated the chance to communicate these types of messages in the Amazon comedy. I was lucky enough to speak with Bakalova on a one-on-one Zoom call where we unpacked the feminist messaging inBorat 2— and she revealed a deleted scene from the film that would’ve explored this angle for Tutar more explicitly.
When I asked Bakalova whether the feminist messages were present in the film’s DNA from the beginning or whether she helped introduce them, here’s what she said:
“I think that has been from the beginning of the moment when they’ve been creating the script, because the whole team that we’ve been working on, I can call every single one of them by their names and I can stand behind my words that I feel they’re like family and they’re all people that are inspiring, that are there to stand up against misogyny and stand up against women being subjugated by the patriarchy. Because unfortunately, it’s crazy, but we are living in 2021 and there are still places around the world, there are still people that are believing that women are somehow not equal, which is crazy. So I believe that that has been one of the messages in the movie. Sacha probably has a better answer, but from the first script that I read, it was there.
And actually, this is a funny story that I haven’t mentioned yet. Tutar at some point was about to become [an] extremely pro-LGBTQ activist/feminist. That was the reason why I cut my hair. But COVID happened, they were thinking even more, the script was evolving every single day.”
As revealed byBorat 2directorJason Woliner, the film’s plotting and narrative moves, let alone its comedy set piece ideas, were dramatically capsized by the COVID-19 pandemic — which you can see rear its ugly head in present tense within the final cut — leaving this idea of Tutar becoming a feminist and activist for LGBTQ causes on the cutting room floor. It’s an interesting idea, especially given Cohen’s penchant for playing specifically prejudiced characters, and it would’ve been interesting to see how Tutar explored this cause, especially under her father’s watchful, old-fashioned eye. Plus, narratively speaking, it would make sense for Tutar to become more socially progressive after finding such a positive role model in real-life babysitterJeanise Jones— though I imagine her rendering of such ideals would be just a touch off the beaten path.
Be on the lookout for the rest of our interview with Maria Bakalova soon.
