Ahamd Najafi: I was the best choice to act in ‘the Sergeant’

Iranian actor and producer Ahamad Najafi in an exclusive interview with ifilm, talks about his role in Masoud Kimiai’s ‘The Sergeant.’

Najafi said at the time 'the Sergeant' was filmed, Masoud Kimiai was livelier and more energetic than today. To film 'the Sergeant' we had to travel to Astara, a city in northern Iran on the border with Azerbaijan Republic, and come back to Tehran for twenty one days, with cars and other vehicles. As a boy I had first-hand experience of living close to war zone, therefore I’ve always wanted life on the sidelines of war to be depicted in films. At the time Kimiai produced 'The Sergeant', no one knew what being a prisoner of war or a veteran with disabilities was like. Kimiai said, “Let’s imagine what they (war prisoners) would do after they were released or what our behavior towards them would be.” The idea was appealing to me. I was the best choice to play the leading role. I never insisted on acting in this film, but it happened to be me in the end. And I proudly accepted the role. Even today I still think it’s one of the best films in the war genre that I like.

'The Sergeant' is a 1990 Iranian film about war by Masoud Kimiai. It tells the story of a retired Iranian Army sergeant who returns home after the Iran-Iraq war finishes. 

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