What leading actor says about ‘Arvand’

Famed Iranian actor Saeed Aqakhani, who plays a starring role in this weekend’s ifilm pick, talks about his role in ‘Arvand’.

The actor who had never appeared in any war movie before ‘Arvand’ said to local media, “Acting in the movies themed on the Holy Defense Cinema has a nostalgic feeling for me and considering my age, I remember many events of Iraq-Iran war.”

He added, “I have a good feeling about the people of that time, but the fact is that I never thought one day I could play the role of a war veteran and I had not even thought of acting such a role.”

Aqakhani who played Yunes in the flick also noted that “I was supposed to work in another film project with Mr. Azarbayjani, but for some reason, this did not happen. When I read the script of ‘Arvand’, it was very interesting to me. I must also say that I usually read the scripts that I get in an hour, but I spent four hours reading the script of ‘Arvand’ because I felt bad and cried between the scenes. In my opinion, ‘Arvand’ has a first-rate script, and the story of this event is also very important.”

“Any other actor who was in my place would accept this role,” he said, adding, “I was not familiar with the atmosphere of the story at all. I have a good feeling that I played in this film and so glad when I see this film.”

The movie, produced by Mehdi Davari and directed by Pouriya Azarbayjani, reviews a story set in some years after the Iraq-Iran war.

The hero of this flick is a veteran soldier with a mental health condition played by Aqakhani. The story follows this character with a spin to highlight  175 Iranian divers, most of whom are believed to have been buried alive in scattered mass graves in Iraq during the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war.

‘Arvand’,  winner of the Best War and Peace Film award at the Feature Film Category of the 9th Jaipur International Film Festival in India, is scheduled to go on air at 22:00 GMT.

ifilm English will also repeat the movie the next day at 04:00, 10:00 and 16:00 (all GMT times).

AG/AG