Fears over The Infidel

Omid Djalili has been warned that his new film The Infidel could ‘get him in trouble’ in Iran.

He said journalists there warned he could be targeted for making light of religion in the comedy, written by David Baddiel.

But the comic, whose family are from Iran, said nobody who understood the jokes would take offence

He told entertainment news service WENN: ‘The Iranian press said, “We love the movie and we love you, but we're really worried, you're going to get yourself into trouble. Why do you say those things? You made fun of Islam.”

‘When I went through it with him, he had misunderstood all the jokes.

‘It happens all the time with comedy. A lot of people are not comedy literate. You have to be au fait with the language of comedy.’

The film took around £450,000 in its first two weeks on release in the UK.

Published: 28 Apr 2010