'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm': Who is Maria Bakalova? The 24-year-old who plays Borat's daughter Tutar Sagdiyev
'Borat', which was released in 2006, became one of the most controversial films of all time. Now, Sacha Baron Cohen is back with its sequel titled 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' and it surely is even more controversial. From people singing a hate song for Obama, to comments such as Hillary Clinton drinks children's blood, this film has it all. Even though it is really difficult to steal the spotlight from Cohen, his onscreen daughter Tutar Sagdiyev (also known as Sandra Jessica Parker in the film), really steals the show.
When the trailer of the film was released and the credits came out, Tutar's real name was revealed as Irina Novak. But later, it came to light that the real name of the actress who plays the 15-year-old daughter in the film is Maria Bakalova, and the makers of the film wanted to keep her real name away for a while. It was later reported that there is indeed an actress named Irina Novak, who bears a slight physical resemblance to Bakalova and was enlisted on IMDb for playing a character in a Polish neo-realist drama titled 'Róg Brzeskeij i Capri' — a movie that was released in 1979.
Bakalova's character in the film grows from a girl who lives in a cage and dreams to live in a "bigger golden cage" just like Melania, to becoming a feminist journalist when her father takes her to the United States of America (as a gift). Her character has comically thrown light on many taboos still prevailing in many parts of the world. Her character Tutar, carries a bizarre book with her, which her father gave, according to which, "woman can't drive", "woman can't read", "when women give birth to a boy, he walks away straight from the womb, but with a girl it is different," and many more. However, soon, she discovers the lies in the book and tries to make her father understand the same.
Who is Maria Bakalova?
Born on June 4, 1996, in Burgas, Bulgaria, Bakalova studied at the National School of Arts in Burgas, from where she majored in acting for drama theater and did a second major in flute. She later studied at National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, from where she graduated in 2019.
Baklava has appeared in the Italian TV series 'Gomorrah'. Apart from that, she has appeared in several Bulgarian features including 'Transgression' (2018) and 'Last Call'. Even though she plays the character of a 15-year-old girl in 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', her real age is 24.