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Canceling culture is a divisive issue in the comedy world right now, with some claiming it has a negative impact and others saying it’s perfectly easy to be funny without offending.
In the mock-documentary People Just Do Nothing, which debuts on the big screen this week, the comedy comes at the expense of a group of characters with great confidence – though they are often unaware of how wrong they are. .
Asim Chaudhry, who plays Kurupt FM manager Chabuddy G, told Sky News that he thinks good comedy comes from knowing your story.
Asim Chaudhry plays manager Chabuddy G
“I don’t believe in the ‘Oh, I have the right to say whatever I want, it’s comedy’ genre, I think that’s wrong, I think you have to have respect”, a he declared.
“For me, the most important is a level of research on something. For example, when someone approaches me, says it’s a white person, and they come and give me a Chabuddy G accent, which happens quite often …
“When someone comes along and it’s really bad I’ll be like, please don’t do that – but trust me no matter what color you are if you come up to me and make a really good Chabuddy G accent, there is nothing wrong with that, it is absolutely true.
“All I’m trying to say is this is a level of detail, a level of research – if you really know something you are allowed to take the p ** out of it. *, you are allowed to tamper with it. I think the undo culture can get a bit OTT, but it’s all about respect, it’s all about detail, it’s all about research, and that’s too a question of intentions. “
People don’t do anything: Big In Japan is Kurupt FM’s first big screen. All photos: Universal Pictures
The new film, People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan, sees the MCs and DJs of Kurupt FM and their hapless manager travel to Japan after one of their tracks gained popularity during a game show in the country.
Steve Stamp, who plays the drugged Steves and who co-wrote the film with Allan Mustafa, who plays MC Grindah, says that to avoid a potential offense, the two went to Japan in order to avoid lazy stereotypes.
“We’ve had research trips where we’ve investigated ideas that we had and sort of ironed out if that was actually a thing when you’re out there or if it’s just what people say happens when you are there, ”he said.
“We made sure that what we were getting were real experiences and that we weren’t just basically drawing from tropes, so yes we were aware of that and I also think we took care to make Kurupt FM the joke.”
The film sees the DJs and MCs, and their hapless manager, head to Japan after one of their tracks gained popularity on a game show.
Hugo Chegwin, who plays DJ Beats, agreed that it’s the characters that pay the price for the comedy.
“With us the joke is always on these characters – you have to be respectful and sensitive to other cultures, communities and stuff like that,” he said.
“We’re not here to offend people, and our comedy show is also about idiots; we’re not stand-up comedians – and I think that’s where it gets tough – so it’s not. we.”
The film marks a turning point for the characters, who started in a series of short YouTube videos in 2011 but have never seen fame before.
The film comes after five rounds of the BAFTA-winning mock documentary show
Now, after five TV series, a BAFTA, and a year behind schedule thanks to the pandemic, the film is hitting the big screen, and new medium meant new challenges for its creators.
“The writing process took a little longer because we were learning on the job,” Mustafa said. “Television has been something we’ve been doing for eight years, it’s the first time we’ve made a film.
“We didn’t want to take it too much of the tone of the TV series. The characters stayed and reacted the same way, but you put them in these bigger situations in Japan – it’s about how they react to it. rather than changing the characters, it’s the situations around them that change. “
Chaudhry said the change of scenery helped the transition to filmmaking.
“It was fun exploring a different space, a different country, and Japan is there – I mean, it’s a very futuristic and unique place,” he said.
“Visually, it looks amazing, and I think it helped us make the movie so cinematic, because obviously we’re a TV show and we’re a mock documentary, so we purposely want things to look good. look serious.
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“Even when we did stuff on YouTube back then, it looked so bad and gritty and shaky that people thought it was real. We kind of wanted to keep that – a little more polished obviously, for the TV show – but that was a bit of a challenge, like how do you make it look like a movie? “
Stamp says having the same crew for the movie they had on the TV show meant they never strayed too far from their original production values.
“We had a few sets… but generally we were on the streets and in these little places the same way we would be in London. So it made us feel comfortable doing what we are doing. “
The film’s release having been postponed, it is now hitting theaters more than two and a half years after the fifth and final series aired on television.
Mustafa said that while he was initially appalled at the delay, he has now changed his mind.
“You think, are we losing momentum here? Are people going to forget about us? On second thought, it’s been really good, it’s built it so much that people are so ready.
“And I guess also, you know, after the year we’ve had, it sounds selfish but it’s good that people need to laugh now, so maybe this is the perfect time for that.”
People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan is in theaters across the UK from August 18th
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