Despite all the controversy Sacha Baron Cohen’s received for giving Kazakhstan a bad name with his fictional reporter Borat, the comedian has been nominated for a national award in the central Asian state.
Kazakh novelist Sapabek Asip-Uly has asked the Club of Art Patrons to give Sacha its annual award for the huge amount of interest he has generated in the country with his character’s movie.
Borat "has managed to spark an immense interest of the whole world in Kazakhstan - something our authorities could not do during the years of independence,” he said.
"If state officials completely lack a sense of humour, their country becomes a laughing stock."
Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has also praised the movie for raising the country’s global profile.
