In the bustling area of Spitalfield market in London is where I finally meet Riz Ahmed, the protagonist of the movie ‘Four Lions.’ Meeting Ahmed turned in to a quest after weeks of coordination disasters since he is busy with numerous projects; this week he is preparing to perform at the Latitude Festival. Ahmed has starred in the multi-award winning film, ‘Road to Guantanamo,’ ‘Shifty’ (for which he was nominated for best actor at the 2008 British International Film Awards) and TV drama ‘Britz’ where he plays an M15 agent. Ahmed, who also dabbles in rap music, is known for his controversial song ‘Post 9/11 Blues.’ Ahmed also mentioned his desire to visit and perform in Pakistan, given there is an audience for his music. Here he talks about his role in this film, ‘Four Lions’ which is a satire on suicide bombers from Sheffield, England and whether audiences are ready to watch a comedy on such a sensitive topic.

Q: Rapping and acting – are they two entirely different personalities or do they complement one another?

A:  Both are equally part of what I do, I wouldn’t be happy just doing one of them. I really enjoy doing the proactive, creative and independent nature of making music. It’s [music] very close to my heart. Acting is just something that’s been a natural thing for me – I really like to focus on the details [and technicality] of rehearsals and ironincally, the freedom that preparation [and rehearsals] can give you.

Q: How do you decide which project to take on?

A: I’ll choose either a singing job or acting – it will always be at the expense of the other, so it has to be something I completely believe in.

Q: ‘Four Lions’ is a satire on suicide bombers – do you think we’re ready to laugh about a subject like this?

A: People laughed when they saw the film. The source of the comedy is not terrorist atrocity or killing of innocent civilians, the source is the ordinary person’s life, [something] that is universal to any kind of comedy, which we can all relate to. The scenes aren’t unrealistic in the sense that there have been a number of terrorist cases where a wife or spouse has partnered up has been implicated in a plot, so it’s [the movie] not an unrealistic portrayal. I guess as an actor, it’s about getting in to the head and sympathising with the motivations and intentions of that character.

Ironically, even the audience does this as well [sympathising with the characters]. This humanising portrayal of people as people, kind of clashes against the 101 headlines day in, and day out [about suicide bombers and terrorist] – which forces you to see people not as people, but under certain labels whatever that may be.  So that contradiction is there. For instance, in ‘Avatar,’ you’ve got that obvious Hollywood war film where you’ve got the good soldier who wants to go off and fight in a battle, and the soldiers’ family says, ‘we’re supporting you.’ People [send] their children off to fight in wars everyday with a heavy heart –  in regard to Omar (played by Riz Ahmed) and his wife, in their head they don’t think they’re doing something bad – its just the other side [their version] of it.”

Q: But is it possible to keep the characters of suicide bombers separate from the act of suicide bombing?

A:  Its about group dynamics, they [the characters in the movie] are lovable buffoons who are trying to do something and keep messing up. In this context, it just so happens that they’re suicide bombers and their failure in trying to achieve anything, even the most basic kind of tasks. So someone saying something stupid and funny, will be funny [regardless] even if they’re Jack the Ripper or a character from the ‘Toy Story.’ I think that’s an important distinction to make and I don’t think that’s a compromise or a cop out or an attempt to kind of hide away from what they are doing. What I think this film shows is refreshing, kind of like outtake footage – just these people as people. I think all of us would like to think were not defined by just our job descriptions

It’s just an honest film. You know, there is an innately ridiculous side to terrorism and there’s an innately ridiculous side to human beings. This film focuses on that group dynamic and the testosterone that drives that group dynamic.

Nosheen Abbas is a columnist for Dawn and writes about youth issues. She has worked with the United Nations, Plan International, World Population Foundation and the Commonwealth Programme on a number of youth development initiatives.