It’s Not What It Looks Like

It’s Not What It Looks Like (2026) is a British black comedy written by Suman Hanif and Nasim Akhtar, and directed by Ganesh Sharma. This short film is currently in post-production and runs 16 minutes. 

The film centres around a 19-year-old woman named Asma Ali Hussain, played by Ayushi Jain. Asma is an actress who has honed her career by creating satirical self-tapes on YouTube, where she plays an extremist. These videos have been brought to the attention of two small-town cops, Bob and Patrick, who before doing any research into Asma or anything else at all it seems, mistake her persona as a genuine threat and conduct a shambolic police interview in order to gather the evidence they need to convict Asma in court.  

This comedy is set in the current era of the 2020s, a time when extremism and terrorism are a huge topic of conversation, particularly in politics. Polarising individuals such as Nigel Farage have committed themselves to perpetuating the idea that the threat of terrorism comes from the migration of individuals across borders, causing fear-mongering amongst the less educated. 

This misinformation leads to severe cases of racism, seen in the case of Tommy Robinson’s popularity, as more and more people are swayed by prejudiced arguments rather than researching important political topics and history. 

It’s Not What It Looks Like plays well on this reality of far-right political mindsets, as it is clear that Bob and Patrick have no curiosity about Asma’s life. They do not investigate the reasons she may have made these videos, and lack any critical thinking. They do not even lend Asma the courtesy of listening to her; they simply make their assumptions and ignore anything to the contrary.

Fans of The Drama (2026), directed by Kristoffer Borgli, will appreciate the dark humour at play here. Whilst Asma is, of course, not a terrorist, the character she plays online is playing into the stereotype of one. The tone is completely satirical throughout the film, similarly to The Drama which remains comedic despite dealing with dark topics. However, both films importantly keep their entertainment without making light of the key issue at hand. Asma is not a victim of radical grooming; however, the influence of far-right speech on the internet is an extremely prevalent one. 

Public figures like Andrew Tate’s gaining a platform have a strong, non-coincidental correlation with the rise of incel culture and violence committed by young men. This film, like the drama, importantly raises awareness of the nonsensical discourse surrounding these issues, such as through the police jumping to conclusions, and incorporates a microcosmic example of cancel culture, without taking away from the seriousness of terrorism.

All of the performances in the film are worth noting. Ayushi Jain brilliantly conveys the frustration of being a racially profiled woman, stuck between two ignorant men who refuse to hear her voice. Bob and Patrick make comedically wild assumptions about her daily activities, often mistaking one thing for something completely different- for instance, they believe her camping trip to the Lake District was in fact in Syria, and they think a pregnancy test is a COVID test. These obvious, gruelling mistakes demonstrate not only Asma's struggles of being a victim of racism, but also of misogyny, and of being subject to a corrupt authority.

It’s Not What It Looks Like (2026) is an entertaining and important short film. Whilst a vital plot twist towards the end of the third act provides some optimism towards UK authorities, it is nowhere near enough, keeping attention on the police force’s constant failures. Bob and Patrick are the main antagonists of the film; however, they are still good fun to watch as the chaos unfolds in the interview room. This film is an excellent example of how to present political messaging whilst maintaining itself as engaging. Viewers will find themselves excited about Ganesh Sharma’s platform as they continue to grow as a filmmaker.