Bootlegged "Borat" #1 On Streets Of Kazakhstan

The decision not to release "Borat!" in Kazakhstan has apparently been a boon to the republic’s street vendors, many of whom recently have been seen selling bootlegged copies of the controversial movie from pushcarts and car boots in the local markets.

Apparently, the movie was secretly filmed during one of its many premiers last month, and shipped overseas by a Russian student studying in the US whose girlfriend lives in Kazakhstan.

After a few locals from her village found out that she had the film in her possession, somebody asked to borrow it, and that person apparently had ties to an underground bootlegging operation based in Almaty.

The dub is supposed to be of very low quality, with some sections missing, and very poor sound throughout. Nevertheless, hundreds of copies have changed hands in back alley deals in recent days, and Borat himself would be impressed to learn that the film is available on DVD as well as VHS tape for about 500 Tenge, or 4 US dollars at current conversion rates.