Shahrzad (TV series)

Shahrzad (Persian: شهرزاد, romanized: Shahrzād) is an Iranian romantic and historical drama series written by Hassan Fathi and Naghmeh Samini, produced by Mohammad Emami and directed by Hassan Fathi[1] The storyline is set around and after the 1953 Iranian coup d'état.[2][3] The series is licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran and available online and in CDs around the country.[4] Due to its international popularity, it has been dubbed and aired in Urdu, Arabic, French, Spanish[5] and Russian.[6] It stars Ali Nassirian, Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Mostafa Zamani and Parinaz Izadyar.

Shahrzad
Persianشهرزاد
Genre
Written by
Directed byParsa Ali
Starring
Theme music composerMohsen Chavoshi
ComposerAmir Tavassoly
Country of originIran
Original languagePersian
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes59
Production
ProducerMohammad Emami
Production locations
CinematographyNooshin Jafari
EditorMahdi Hoseinivand
Running time60 minutes
Release
Original networkHome video
Original release12 October 2015 (2015-10-12) –
11 June 2018 (2018-06-11)

In the first few episodes, the singer of the series was Alireza Ghorbani. Then Mohsen Chavoshi and Sina Sarlak replaced him. In the last two episodes, Amin Bani and Farnaz Maleki were added to the series' singers.

Storyline

Iranian businessman Bozorg Agha is the head of a very powerful mafia syndicate who had a strong role in the coup d'état against Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh's government on 18 August 1953.[7] The son and daughter of two of Bozorg Agha's henchmen, Shahrzad and Farhad, are about to get married. During the coup chaos, Farhad gets arrested and sentenced to death. Bozorg Agha uses the influence he has amongst the coup heads to set Farhad free on the condition that Shahrzad agrees to break her engagement to him and marry the nephew of Bozorg Agha, Ghobad. Ghobad is already married to the sterile daughter of Bozorg Agha, Shirin, who does not take kindly to her husband's growing love for his second wife. The conflict created by these circumstances as well as the political activities of Farhad set the background for the story. The series follows the troubled lives of the people under the control of Bozorg Agha's rule as well as the ongoing rivalry between Bozorg Agha and other corrupt political leaders of the time.[8]

Cast
  = Main cast (credited)
  = Recurring cast (3+)
  = Guest cast (1-2)
Actor Character Seasons
1 2 3
Taraneh Alidoosti Shahrzad Saadat Main
Shahab Hosseini Ghobad Divansalar Main
Mostafa Zamani Farhad Damavandi Main
Parinaz Izadyar Shirin Divansalar Main
Ali Nassirian Bozorg Agha Divansalar Main Does not appear
Mehdi Soltani Hashem Damavandi Main Recurring
Fariba Motekhasses Marzieh Main
Soheyla Razavi Parvin Main
Mahmoud Pakniat Jamshid Saadat Main Does not appear
Gelareh Abbasi Akram Bourbouran Main
Houman Barghnavard Colonel Teymouri Main Recurring
Pantea Panahiha Sharbat Main Recurring
Parviz Fallahipour Nosrat Pashaei Recurring Main
Amirhossein Fathi Homayoun Mohtadi/Saber Abdolli Recurring Main
Ghazal Shakeri Azar Goldarrei Main Does not appear
Abolfazl Pourarab Heshmat Pashaei Main Does not appear
Amirhossein Rostami Babak Yeganeh Main Does not appear
Mina Vahid Maryam Mehrzad Main Does not appear
Nahal Dashti Mitra Damavandi Recurring
Mona Ahmadi & Maasoumeh Beygi Simin Saadat Recurring
Nasim Adabi Homeyra Saadat Recurring
Ramin Naser Nasir Houshang Recurring
Pasha Jamali Asghari Recurring
Jamshid Hashempour Major Fouladshekan Recurring Does not appear
Roya Nonahali Belgheys Divansalar Does not appear Main Guest
Reza Kianian Shapour Behboudi Does not appear Main
Amir Jafari Captain Aparviz Does not appear Main
Ateneh Faghih Nasiri Soraya Does not appear Recurring
Jamshid Gorgin Shahram Behboudi Recurring Does not appear
Manouchehr Zendehdel Colonel Soheili Recurring Does not appear
Hadi Ghomeyshi Mr. Shirvani Recurring Does not appear
Banipal Shoomoon Esfandiari Recurring Does not appear
Saghi Zinati Malmal Taherkhanlou Recurring Does not appear
Mehran Nael Mr. Arshad Recurring
Farshid Samadipour Zabih Recurring
Parviz Bozorgi Rajab Recurring
Mohammad Yeganeh Asad Ghiasi Recurring
Nahid Moslemi Batool Recurring
Sam Nouri Sedgh Nouri Recurring
Abbas Zafari Akram's father Recurring
Parisa Sabournezhad Saeedeh Recurring Does not appear
Mahsa Nasiri Esmat Recurring Does not appear
Hamid Reza Azarang Lieutenant Mohammadi Guest Does not appear
Hossein Saharkhiz Masoud Khan Does not appear Recurring
Shokrekhoda Goodarzi Mozaffar Does not appear Recurring
Siamak Helmi Feri Does not appear Recurring
Parviz Bashardoost Enayatollah Khan Does not appear Recurring
Mohsen Naghibian Does not appear Recurring
Amirkaveh Ahaninjan Does not appear Recurring
Aman Rahimi Does not appear Recurring
Mahdi Yahestani Does not appear Recurring
Morteza Rostami Does not appear Recurring
Javad Zeytooni Does not appear Recurring
Farhad Mahdavi Does not appear Recurring
Mohammadreza Imanian Does not appear Recurring
Houshang Ghanavatizadeh Does not appear Recurring
Behzad Davari Does not appear Recurring
Pouria Miandehi Does not appear Recurring
Shahab Ashkan Does not appear Recurring
Hootan Shateripour Does not appear Recurring
Amirhossein Shariatmadari Does not appear Recurring
Mohsen Marvi Does not appear Recurring
Elham Nami Does not appear Recurring
Ahmad Lashini Does not appear Recurring

Production

The cast of the 59-episode series includes over 200 artists. Considering the professional team behind the camera, plus two years spent on pre-production and four months of shooting, it is the biggest project by the private sector for the home video network.[9]

Location

The series was shot in Ghazali Cinematic Town in the western part of Tehran. Covering an area of 10 hectares, the complex was established in 1971 by the late director Ali Hatami, partially simulating old Tehran. It comprises various state and historic buildings; streets, and places similar to more than 100 years ago decorated by Italian decorators, particularly Gianni Cortina. Other locations are the Museum of the Qasr Prison, Vossug ed Dowleh House, House dr Mohammad Moin, Naderi Café, Passenger Terminal, Sulaimaniyah Palace and Baharestan Square camerawork.[10] Another location that resonated with the Armenian community in Iran is the Armenian Club that is used for weddings and outings by the Armenians. This club is used in the very first few parts of episode one of Shahrzad as a meeting place for Farhad and Shahrzad.

Distribution

Its first season was broadcast in 2014. The broadcast of the second season started on Monday, June 19, 2017 and ended on October 17, 2017. The broadcast of the third season also began from January 31, 2018 and ended on June 21, 2018. The series was broadcast weekly on Mondays.

Reception

Reviews

Parviz Jahed review from Guardian wrote:

Good story-telling has made it an intriguing and successful melodrama set against the backdrop of an important episode in Iran’s modern history.[11]

Mahdi Ganjavi review from Global Voices Online wrote:

As the story of Shahrzad shows, the political and economic aspirations, desires, and interests of any historical moment entail a revision of what happened in the past. Shahrzad is a love story in the disturbed atmosphere.[12]

Awards

This series has had a total of 12 nominations and 7 wins from Hafez Awards and has had 6 nominations and 2 wins from the Yas International Film Festival.

Season 1

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2016
16th Hafez Awards[13]
Best Series Shahrzad Won
Best Director Hassan Fathi Won
Best Soundtrack Mohsen Chavoshi with Sina Sarlak Nominated
Best Actor Shahab Hosseini Nominated
Ali Nasirian Won
Best Actress Taraneh Alidoosti Nominated
Parinaz Izadyar Nominated
Life Achievement Jamshid Hashempour Won
  • Also won the Best Director and Best Screenplay category at the fourth Yas International Film Festival.

Season 2 & 3[14]

Was appreciated the most with three awards from Hafez Awards:

  • The best drama actor award went to Mehdi Soltani
  • The best drama actress to Roya Nonahali
  • Best director award to Hassan Fathi.

And eight nominations, including:

  • Best Actress for Taraneh Alidosti, Prinaz Izdiar and Galareh Abbasi
  • Best Actor for Mostafa Zamani, Shahab Hosseini and Amir Hossein Fathi

Poll
  • Best Series in Iran of all Time with 67% vote - Cmmagazine[15]

Celebration and Appreciation

Celebration and appreciation ceremony of the actors of Shahrzad series was held last night, Sunday, May 16, in the presence of the agents of this series and other cinema artists in the conference hall of Milad Tower in Tehran.[16]

Soundtracks

Shahrzad OST
Track listing
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Shahrzad"Alireza Ghorbani2:50
2."Shahrzad 2"Alireza Ghorbani3:16
3."Hamkhaab"Mohsen Chavoshi2:59
4."Be Rasme Yadegar"Mohsen Chavoshi5:31
5."Kojaei?"Mohsen Chavoshi Ft. Sina Sarlak3:48
6."Shahrzad"Mohsen Chavoshi4:11
7."Afsar"Mohsen Chavoshi Ft. Sina Sarlak4:40
8."Mah Pishooni"Mohsen Chavoshi3:57
9."Barkhiz"Sina Sarlak4:51
10."Khodahafezie Talkh"Mohsen Chavoshi3:58
11."Divooneh"Mohsen Chavoshi 
12."Fandak Tab dar"Mohsen Chavoshi Ft. Sina Sarlak3:37
13."Ey Darigha"Mohsen Chavoshi Ft. Sina Sarlak4:27
14."Havam Dobare pase"Mohsen Chavoshi4:25
15."Tanha Omide Zendegi"Sina Sarlak4:05
16."Kash Nadide Boodamet"Mohsen Chavoshi5:04
17."Jome"Mohsen Chavoshi4:36
18."Del Ey Del"Mohsen Chavoshi Ft. Sina Sarlak5:33
19."Che Kardi"Amin Bani Ft. Farnaz Maleki4:17
20."Nashod"Amin Bani Ft. Farnaz Maleki4:58

References
  1. "Shahrzad comes with a Special". 23 September 2015.
  2. correspondent, Saeed Kamali Dehghan Iran (April 19, 2016). "Iran TV series set in 1950s draws big audiences with echoes in politics today" – via www.theguardian.com.
  3. "10 راز محبوبیت "شهرزاد"". ایسنا. May 2, 2016.
  4. Details Second Season Shahrzad
  5. "Shahrzad | TVmaze" – via www.tvmaze.com.
  6. "Сериал Шахерезада: фото, видео, описание серий - Вокруг ТВ".
  7. "persian-news.net". ww1.persian-news.net.
  8. Torfeh, Massoumeh. "New TV series evokes memories of pre-revolution Iran". www.aljazeera.com.
  9. Cologne rolls out Red carpet for 'Shahrzad'
  10. "Shahrzad Series Locations".
  11. Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (April 21, 2016). "Set in 1950s, Shahrzad draws big audiences with echoes in politics today". DAWN.COM.
  12. "A Lavish Iranian TV Series Revises the History of the 1953 Coup for the Post-Nuclear Deal Age · Global Voices". September 28, 2016.
  13. "First Kiarostami prize awarded to "Fish and Cat" director". Tehran Times. July 24, 2016.
  14. "Best in Film and Television Awarded". Financial Tribune. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  15. "تحلیل ارتباطی و جامعه‌شناسی موفقیت سریال شهرزاد در ماهنامه مدیریت ارتباطات". همشهری آنلاین. June 29, 2016.
  16. "جشن پایان سریال شهرزاد- عکس خبری تسنیم - Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم - Tasnim (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-11-22.
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