I was afraid of Pirouzfar: Tajik actress

Setareh Safarova is a Tajik actor and TV host who plays in current ifilm series ‘In the Eye of the Storm’.

She is a Journalism grad from Tajikistan Broadcasting University and is fluent in English, Persian and Russian. Before playing a role in the Iranian series, she worked as a TV news anchor, performing in the Russian and Tajik languages.

The young artist started professional acting career on the small screen in 2008, playing Leila’s character in the very same Iranian series. She could shine well with this counting as one of the most important parts of her bio.

Director Masoud Jafari-Jozani traveled to Tajikistan and did the casting for one of his characters in the series himself among prominent artistic figures in the country. Eventually he picked Setareh for the role.

The actress costarred with the likes of Parsa Pirouzfar and Mostafa Zamani who are famed Iranian actors and in this regard, this was a great chance for her.

The actress said of Pirouzfar in a media interview, “At first I didn’t know Pirouzfar. When I came to Iran I got really anxious as I learnt that he is a great actor in Iran.”

“When I watched some of his movies, I got even terrified. But he is a great person as he did his best to help me shape up the character in the series. I always respect him in terms of his artistic literacy.

She further added, “I never thought a young superstar could be an intellectual as well as philanthropist.”

The Tajik actress also said of her role in the series that the Leila character as the name suggests was a legend, adding, “I read ‘Layla and Majnun’ poem” by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi.

She further compared the character’s name with that of Ganjavi’s masterpiece, noting, “ I think the story of Mr. Jozani partly refers to legendary Leila that exists in the hearts of Persian speakers.

The actress shared her thoughts with the director, saying, “He also instructed me that this character should be completely perfect. She knows the breadth and meaning of love in full. Her love for Bijan exceeds the earth's limit. Above all, Leila is like a homeland whose culture, language and belief flow within her.”

“I said to Mr. Jozani that I'm afraid I cannot play this woman well. But he calmly raised his shoulders and said, ‘Do not hesitate, you can’” the actress said of her concern over taking on this role.

Setareh said about the most beautiful episodes of series that when she saw Bijan for the first time and realized his face was a "memorable and beautiful sequence” for her, adding, “All elements there are believable and when I saw it from TV, got so emotional and forgot that I was the one playing the role in the sequence.”

She described her experience of traveling to Iran as the place where she “did not feel alienated in this beautiful country,” adding, “Iran is like Bijan for me."

The actress also pointed out the commonality in terms of culture, language and religion between Iran and Tajikistan, highlighting that the characters of people in both as “warm, lovable and hospitable.”

The actress also said in an another interview with Iranian news agency that she is more than proud along with other Tajik artists from the Persian-speaking region for playing in a major historical series like ‘In the Eye of the Storm’, adding, “The production belongs to all Persian-speaking countries.”

This Tajik actress wishes to be a good person and showcase the right image of Tajikistan women in the world.

She returned to his country after shooting for ‘In the Eye of the Storm’. The actress has experienced teaching at the academic level in the Faculty of Fine Arts back in her country.

'In the Eye of the Storm' spans the period of history between the revolutionary movement begun by Iran's national hero Mirza Koochak Khan in the early twentieth century, to the freedom of Khoramshahr during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s. The story is told through the trials and tribulations, love and relationships of one family.

AG/AG