Take a listen to ‘Black Friday’ by Farhad in ‘Enigma of the Shah’

Let’s take a listen to ‘Black Friday’ by Farhad Mehrad in iFilm’s historical series ‘The Enigma of the Shah’.

The Black Friday is remembered as a day of bloodshed in the Iranian history; the incident took place on September 8, 1978, only about six months before the Islamic Revolution became victorious.

On this day, people took to the streets in order to protest against the Pahlavi dictatorship, most of them unaware that just a few hours ago, the regime had imposed martial law to prevent anti-regime protests.

As a result, hundreds of peaceful protesters were gunned down by the shah’s military forces near and about Jaleh Square and other southern parts of Tehran.

The soldiers had direct orders to shoot and kill. Historical sources say that about 4000 people were shot down by tanks, guns and military helicopters.

Farhad Mehrad (1944–2002) was an Iranian pop, rock, and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, who released the first English rock and roll album in Iran. He rose to prominence among Iranian rock, folk and pop musicians before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but his first concert after the Islamic Revolution was held in 1993.

To this day, he is considered one of the most influential and respected contemporary Iranian singers.

Don't miss the eighty sixth episode of the series on iFilm TV tonight at 22:00 GMT, or better yet watch it now via the website of the channel.

Each episode of the 95-part historical series will be repeated the next day at 04:00, 10:00 and 16:00.

Directed by Mohammad-Reza Varzi, ‘The Enigma of the Shah’ recounts Iran’s contemporary history, beginning with the rule of Reza Shah Pahlavi and ending with the Islamic Revolution of Iran which brought down the Pahlavi Dynasty.

In 1979, the Iranian nation rose up to bring an end to the dictatorship of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

Led by a charismatic leader named Ayatollah Khomeini, Iranians finally succeeded in changing the country’s system to an Islamic Republic.

Some of the most notable on the prolific cast list are Jafar Dehqan, Hessam Navvab-Safavi, Ali Dehkordi, Rahim Norouzi, Arsalan Qasemi, Mehraveh Sharifinia, Hadis Fouladvand, Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia, Gohar Kheirandish, Siavash Tahmoures and Sorayya Qasemi.

MG/MG