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Mahir Cagri, not in his man-bikini
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| By Associated Press November 10, 2006 |
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Turkey's Internet celebrity Mahir Cagri is so convinced he was the inspiration for the Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev that he plans to travel to London seeking ways he can benefit from the movie that has surprised Hollywood with a No. 1 debut.
Cagri, 44, became a cyber celebrity after he posted a personal Web site in 1999, which featured unintentionally amusing photos of himself playing pingpong or the accordion and sunbathing in a skimpy bathing suit.
Word of the site spread quickly and the Web site received more than a million hits from fans poking fun at, or endeared by his broken English and as well as a hilarious invitation to women: "Who is want to come TURKEY I can invitate ... She can stay my home."
"The world knows he is copying Mahir," Cagri told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his Aegean coastal hometown of Izmir on Monday, minutes before he was to board a plane for Istanbul to appear on a talk show.
"I am not saying this -- the world is. I have received so many e-mails from people in the United States who tell me he is imitating me," he said.
Cagri -- a freelance journalist -- was scheduled to fly to London on Tuesday for meetings with his manager and lawyer there to discuss his options and hold interviews with British newspapers. He hopes to receive an "acknowledgment or an apology" from Baron Cohen.
"The bombshell is going to fall," he said of his London trip. "(Comedian Sasha Baron Cohen) is making money by using me."
Baron Cohen's character in the movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" was first developed for "Da Ali G Show.
The 20th Century Fox movie took in $26.4 million over the opening weekend, according to studio estimates.
On the commentary track to the DVD of "Da Ali G Show," Baron Cohen says Borat was influenced by someone he met in southern Russia.
"I can't remember his name -- he was a doctor" Baron Cohen said. "The moment I met him, I was totally crying. He was a hysterically funny guy, albeit totally unintentionally."
The character Borat has caused outrage among Kazakhs over the way their nation is being portrayed.
Cagri set up his Web site in the hope of making foreign friends and welcoming guests from abroad to his home. The Turk quickly became a celebrity much to his surprise. Relishing from his fame, Cagri has traveled to Europe and the United States to meet fans on sponsored trips.
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