Riz Ahmed

Comedians announce two big benefits for Pakistan

Two major fundraisers have been announced to raise money following the recent devastating floods in Pakistan. Both events take place on Wednesday, September 21.

The oral history of Four Lions

A comedy about suicide bombers doesn't exactly jump off the page as a workable film idea. Yet in the 2000s, Chris Morris decided to spend years researching the subject to see if he could pull it off for his debut feature.

Director/writer/comedy genius Chris Morris once said of this typically daring satire that he aimed to do for Islamic fundamentalist terrorism what Dad's Army did for the Nazis - to show them up as being 'scary but ridiculous'. So here we follow the bungling antics of a group of home-grown suicide bombers, intent on bringing a jihad, if they can only work out their AK-47s from their elbows. The brightest of the bunch is Omar (shining star Riz Ahmed), a devout, suburban Muslim with a loving, seemingly smart wife. A funny, transgressive and frequently perplexing watch.

Perhaps the most controversial film of 2010, this brilliant farce by satirist Chris Morris finds the funny side of terrorism. It charts the journey of five hapless British would-be jihadists, including family man Omar (Riz Ahmed), as they plan a mass suicide attack. What ensues is a comedy of errors, as they all are easily distracted on their fast-track to paradise.

Video: Cast of Four Lions discuss controversial film

Four Lions, the debut feature film from director Chris Morris tackles the difficult subject of suicide bombers. It tells the story of four young Muslim men from the north of England who become radicalised and decide to become suicide bombers.

The cast Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Adeel Akhtar and Nigel Lindsay spoke to BBC Breakfast about the film.

When he announced his intentions to film a suicide-bomber comedy, Chris Morris made his feature- film debut even more of a hot potato than potential investors might have expected.

Surprisingly, though, Four Lions is quite a traditional comedy. It features likeable characters who might have sprung from a quaint Seventies sitcom, the only difference being that these guys make nail bombs, hate Israel and lament the rise of Gordon Ramsay. Set in the North of England, and played by a largely British-Asian cast, Four Lions tells the story of Omar (Riz Ahmed), a security guard in a shopping mall who dreams of Mujahidin glory. Aided by a white Muslim, Barry (Nigel Lindsay), Omar recruits a sleeper cell, then goes to Pakistan to visit a training camp, where he hopes to be chosen for a mission by one of al-Qaeda's emirs. Unfortunately for him, the project goes horribly wrong, and, unwilling to lose face, he returns to the UK claiming that the mission has been approved.

Here the film becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines. Using the format of an Ealing comedy, with tinges of Seventies farce, Morris delves into the shadowy world of terrorism with extraordinary fearlessness, making these incompetent would-be killers appear daft and strangely endearing. Ahmed, in particular, gives a nuanced and sophisticated performance: his character sees his heroism in the banal terms of The Lion King, and rails against the West while living in a nice suburban home, complete with an Ikea kitchen and fittings.

Given that every bomb in this movie eventually explodes, the grotesqueness of such bad taste is in the eye of the beholder. Here in Sundance, where the reality of suicide bombings isn't quite as palpable as it is in the UK, the crowds lapped it up.

Film-maker's comment: "I sort of feel in a weird way that this is a good-hearted film. It's not a hate film."

Why it will be a hit: Morris is at his jaw-dropping best, creating a warm, likeable comedy about a Muslim terror cell that professes to hate the liberal, Mini Babybel-eating West.