Ziba Boroufeh breaks spell: Media interview

Ziba Boroufeh has delved into her much-admiring lead role as Mashid in ifilm English TV gig ‘Spellbound’ in a media interview.

‘Spellbound’ is all about those with traditional beliefs and thoughts whose peaceful world is shattered by the sleight-of-hand tricks of people seeking to win more money. This all is pulled together by a director named Daryoush Farahang who basically makes very stylish films.  

No matter how much novel the ‘Spellbound’ is in terms of storyline, choosing the right actors for the right roles and creating physical nuances in the characters — that is quite script-free — have raised the bar for a family drama and have compensated for any possible weaknesses.  

ifilm’s ‘Spellboubd’ will end Thursday, June 18 with an idyllic scene. To watch it online anytime, click here.

Is the Mahshid we see on screen the same Mahshid in the original screenplay or was her character developed during the filmmaking process?  

Ziba Boroufeh: ‘Spellbound’ wasn’t more than 12 episodes at the beginning. When I received the script and read it for the first time, I almost resonated through Mahshid's personality details; though, the Mahshid I knew was before her mother's death. What happened after Nasrin's death changed Mahshid's character completely into a passive person who had no control over herself and waited for others to decide for her. Portraying Mahshid's character, I did not confine myself to the scenario at all. The character development was done mostly during the filming process. The whole cast including Mr. Farhang gave input on Mahshid’s character. Some sequences, depending on the logic of the story, were added or removed.

.

If you were Mahshid, would you do the same as her in real life?

Ziba Boroufeh: If I were Mahshid, I would say everything from the very beginning to my fiancé because I believe that even if a girl has experienced a broken marriage before, she has to care much about the present not her past and let her future mate be aware of what she is now. So I would tell everything about my past life to Nima. I would even have doubted my father a tiny bit and got Shohreh out of my father’s house. But Mahshid did nothing of any such things. She was albeit not supposed to do things like that based on the screenplay.  

.

How is it possible that an educated girl like Mahshid let her mother decides on her behalf? How come there were no modifications on the screenplay here at this point?

Ziba Boroufeh: There still are some children in our society that resort to any unreasonable and irrational actions to observe their parents’ health status. Mahshid is an example of such kids. She, however, in this story does not act blindfolded.

.

Did it ever happen if a scene has made you feel scared?

Ziba Boroufeh: Yes, it did. There were some scenes that I was anxious if their shooting would end well. For instance, there was this sequence where I was allowed to react as I wished. It was a 3-minute scene. After it was shot, I was overly touched by it and did not feel well for quite a while; though, the look on the team’s face showed that it was good enough. The director did not even ask for a second shot.   

.

Do you see any similarity between a classic and a fantasy screening production?

Ziba Boroufeh: They are not comparable at all. In my opinion, fantasy and classic genres are two separate categories with two separate definitions. My definition of a fantasy work is that in this genre, the actor can forget all about themselves and delve into a totally unreal character but this is not the case in a serious classic type of work. You portray another human being clinging around your own personal features; and in fact, it gives the actor a greater sense of solidarity. Both genres bear their own difficulties. It is even possible that fantasy work could be even harder to act in.  

.

How was the audience response to the role of Mahshid?  

Ziba Boroufeh: When several episodes went on air, people on the street started to call me Mahshid. It shows that the character was good enough to make people believe it and I hope I would be able to turn in a good performance in every role I take up and the audience can relate.

MM/MM