Watch ‘Daytimer’ - A Film On The British-Asian Underground By Riz MC

Rizwan Ahmed – known better as Riz MC – is an English actor and musician of Pakistani descent who many of you would know from films like Four Lions, Nightcrawler and The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

The artist has also been a prolific figure in the British Asian music community ever since the release of his satirical single ‘Post 9/11 Blues’, which received a lot of attention after being banned from the radio for its seemingly controversial (“politically insensitive”) content. Riz’s music and art has always been politically influenced since then – touching on a number of themes that affect South Asian communities and diaspora in the UK.

His new mixtape ‘Englistan’ and accompanying short film ‘Daytimer’ touch on similar themes that explore the often-ignored subculture. Told through the eyes of a young British-Pakistani boy attending his first daytimer, the film is a coming of age story that covers themes of identity, race and the idea of ‘home’. ‘Daytimer’ also provides a rare insight into its gangs, fashion, music and culture.

About his new mixtape, Riz tells Dazed: "It’s not about one ethnic community in the country or just pockets of it – it is renaming England. It’s stretching our concept of it in a way that takes in our mongrel history and makes space for our mixed-up future. It might feel provocative to people, like it’s about a takeover – fear of a brown planet and all that – but who does this country really belong to in order (for it) to be taken over in the first place? It was built by half the world under empire."

It’s a narrative that will resonate with a lot members of the South Asian community. You can watch the film below and the listen to the powerful ‘Englistan’ mixtape here.