The Hindu Business Line : Mad about films

Is cinema important to society? Does it corrupt people? These are questions hotly debated in conservative West Asian countries. Although belonging to this region, Iran has come a long way in the world of cinema.

It was no fluke that the Iranian film, Jazireh Ahani (Iron Island), won the Golden Peacock award for the best film at the 36th International Film Festival of India, held in Goa. Shahr-e-Jiba, also from Iran, won the award the previous year.

Despite stringent government control on films screened in Iran, the cinema-going habit is very much ingrained in Iranian society. "Our people love to watch films, especially the Farsi ones that are family-oriented and full of romance," says Reza Zarej, owner of the Saviz cinema complex.

The complex is located at Karaj, a beautiful town near Tehran. He built a part of the complex in 1995 with an investment of $20 million. Buoyed by its success, he expanded it in 2003. "Today, I am very happy," he says, and adds that he is converting it into a giant complex with three screening halls, a shopping mall and restaurant. The three saloons, as he calls them, will screen three daily shows.

Though there is no authentic data on the number of cinema halls in Tehran, Reza estimates there are 70-80 of them. People do watch Bollywood films subtitled in Farsi, but only in the comfort of their homes. Indian film CDs are available in the downtown market. Occasionally, government-approved Hollywood block-blusters are also screened in movie halls.

But it is Farsi cinema that draws crowds from all over the country. Films with emotionally-appealing storylines or those that showcase Iranian culture and family values do very well, says Reza's wife, Sila. She believes that cinema can do a world of good to a society even under the State's `legitimate control'.

The progress of Iranian cinema is significant given that before the 1979 revolution, the clerics in Iran frowned on cinema as an evil medium. It was considered `haram' (forbidden). Thus many families considered cinema viewing as sin.

Although the subject of love has been central to many Persian poems, portrayal of love and women on screen was a contentious issue for a long time, says Rehana, a college student. "It still is a hotly-debated issue but somewhat in a diluted state."

Reza Shah Pahlavi's rule, with a modern outlook towards lifestyle and living, boosted cinema as a key public entertainment medium. With women actors coming forward, love and romance took centre stage upsetting the hardliners who struggled to curb the fast-emerging popular medium.

But even though cinema was popular during the Shah's era, many people sounded its death-knell after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Surprisingly post-revolution, the cinema in Iran not only overcame the opposition, but also emerged as one of the most innovative and exciting film industries in the world.

Iranian films have been critically acclaimed at international film festivals. Iranians have successfully presented their own interpretation of `family values', despite a society that frowned on socialising between men and women. Fortunately the liberal sections within the government helped most filmmakers confront cultural conservatives. State censorship too gave way to a certain degree as women and romance — the hallmark of Iranian films — caught people's fancy.

Today, men and women sit together in cinema halls. "You can see some couples even holding hands as they watch the films," laughs Rehana.

"With a huge young population, I don't think government officials would ever stop such themes, though they do talk of restraint or complain at the way romance, love and relationships get depicted in films," says a taxi driver who was remarkably familiar with some Bollywood names.

Picture by the author