Dimash reveals his message for Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat

Photo: Youtube.com/@biznespodkapotom, photo editor: Adelina Mamedova

Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen gave a wide-ranging interview to the YouTube channel «Business Pod Kapotom» («Business Under the Hood»), where he discussed contacting the producer of «Borat» and coping with the loss of a loved one.

The singer said he never doubted his career path. From childhood, he had only wanted to sing and never considered any other option. He credited his parents for shaping his future: His mother, despite poor health, carried him on her back to music school each day while his father, aunt and uncle were at work.

Confronting Sacha Baron Cohen

During the interview, Dimash was asked about his attempt to contact Sacha Baron Cohen, producer and star of the controversial film «Borat.» He dismissed Cohen as someone unworthy of attention, saying the comedian «desecrated an entire people, an entire nation.»

«There was a time when I simply wanted to use all my connections abroad,» he said. «I started contacting acquaintances in the film industry, even asking my manager to help me find him. I wanted to have a man-to-man talk with him.»

Coping with his grandfather’s death

In 2023, Dimash’s grandfather Kudaibergen Aitbayev passed away. He was the first to introduce Dimash to music, gifting him his first dombra and teaching him to play. He also instilled national traditions and values.

«My grandfather greatly loved and revered one man — Dinmukhammed Kunaev [Kazakhstan’s Soviet-era leader, whom people affectionately called Dimash],» Dimash said. «He loved to talk about Konaev’s carefulness, inner culture, composure and noble qualities. Kunaev once said, ‘No matter what heights I reach, I cannot rise above my people.’ Grandfather always reminded us of these words.»