Controversial “Santur Player” coming to home video network
Three years after production, “The Santur Player”, which never premiered in Iran because of official screening restrictions, will be released on the Iranian home video network in the near future.
Starring Bahram Radan and Golshifteh Farahani, “The Santur Player” is about a santur virtuoso and singer named Ali, who becomes a drug addict.
The Honar-e Hashtom Institute will distribute the film according to a license granted by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Since the film has previously been pirated and virtually all Iranian filmgoers have seen the film, the institute has prepared scenes from back stage on a CD to convince people to buy the film.
“The Santur Player” has a history filled with controversy that led to the devastation of the film.
---What has become of “The Santur Player”---
Director Dariush Mehrjuii and producer Faramarz Farazmand had submitted the film for the 25th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran in February 2007.
The organizers of the festival postponed screening the film several times, and it was finally shown exclusively to journalists and film critics with its soundtracks censored, allegedly to show respect for the mourning season of Muharram.
However, the film was nominated in the best composer and best actor categories at the Fajr festival, and Radan was awarded the Best Actor Crystal Simorgh.
The film was to premiere shortly after the festival, but the Culture Ministry refused to grant a screening license due to unlicensed songs in the soundtrack sung by Mohsen Chavoshi.
The ministry argued that the songs had not been previously approved by the relevant departments of musical affairs.
As a result, the film’s composer Ardavan Kamkar had to rerecord the songs as sung by Radan, who plays the role of Ali.
Even with all the modifications, the film did not meet with the satisfaction of the officials, and once again the premiere of “The Santur Player” was postponed indefinitely in July 2007 while numerous billboards in Tehran bearing the film’s posters were announcing its Iranian premiere.
In February 2008, “The Santur Player” was pirated at a time when the flick was expected to be a huge box office hit.
Farazmand asked Mehrjuii’s fans to abstain from purchasing the bootlegged CDs, but customers in the Iranian black market turned a deaf ear to his plea.
Photo: Bahram Radan plays the role of Ali in “The Santur Player”.
Source: tehrantimes.com
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