Djalili 'understands Infidel controversy'

Omid Djalili has admitted that he understands why people think his new movie The Infidel is controversial.

The film follows a Muslim man, played by Djalili, who discovers that he was born Jewish.

"It's difficult for me to say it's controversial, because I've had 12, 13 years of my [stand-up] act," Djalili told The Mirror. "I've been talking about race, religion, suicide bombing. It didn't seem controversial to me but I can see that maybe some people will find it controversial.

"One or two points skirt very close to the edge, but I think that the heart of the movie is so good - I honestly don't feel that people will be too offended by it."

Djalili also explained that the movie was never meant to cause offence but insisted that people should be able to joke about controversial issues.

He said: "I think that the line here is never to make fun of central figures of a faith or make fun of a faith, but the foibles of the religious followers, of people who have struggled to interpret, struggled to understand religion. I've struggled to understand that religion is a means to an end - a lot of people think religion is an end.

"And our struggle to understand that, it's something that we should laugh to help us understand."

David Baddiel, who wrote the movie, recently said that Djalili was the perfect person to star in the film.