Bitter Coffee

Bitter Coffee
Also known as	Ghahveh Talkh
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Mehran Modiri
Written by	Amir Mehdi Jhooleh Khashayar Alvand
Directed by	Mehran Modiri
Starring	Mehran Modiri Siamak Ansari Mohammad Reza Hedayati Sahar Zakaria Saeid Pirdoost Saed Hedayati
Country of origin	Iran
Original language(s)	Farsi/Iranian/Persian
No. of episodes	102 Released - 111 Planned
Production
Producer(s)	Hamid Aghagolian Majid Aghagolian
Location(s)	Tehran, Iran
Editor(s)	Javad Aslani
Running time	30–40 minutes
Release
Original release	September 2010
Chronology
Preceded by	Man of Many Many Faces
Followed by	Laughing Bomb

Bitter Coffee (Persian: قهوه تلخ‎‎) is a historical comedy series directed by Mehran Modiri. Three episodes are released at a time (roughly every week) on three VCD or one DVD, priced in Iran at 25000 rials (currently approximately $2.50). The first set of episodes were released on 23 Shahrivar 1389 (13 September 2010).

History and Controversy

Production of the series began in June 2009. Bitter Coffee was meant to be produced for television, to be broadcast by the IRIB, but due to various disagreements between IRIB and the series' producers, it didn't air. An alleged reason for disagreement between the producers and IRIB was that the producers wanted all of the advertisement profit from the series, but IRIB refused to agree. Another rumoured reason was the planned content of the series, IRIB officials eventually refused to show Bitter Coffee, and the series was eventually distributed in VCD format, at various outlets throughout Iran.^[1][2]

Distribution

Inside each pack is a ticket number with which the ticket holder could win one of many prizes (including 6 fully furnished apartments in Tehran, 3 brand new cars, and many cash prizes). This is done to aid sales and to discourage copying (in fact Modiri addresses this very candidly before the beginning of the first episode). There are thousands of shops that distribute the series within Iran, but apparently none that do outside of Iran, where Modiri has a very large fan base amongst expats.

Cast

Storyline

The series begins with history teacher Nima Zande-Karimi (Siamak Ansari) realising that his extensive research on Persian and world history is of little use to financing his day-to-day life. He is about to leave Tehran for good to go back to his hometown when he comes across young university student Roya Atabaki (Sahar Jafari-Jozani) who is researching for her final year dissertation, which is regarding the period 1198–1203, that is said to be a period of turmoil for Iran's ruling elite. Such turmoil that, very few books are available on that period for Roya's research. It is then that Nima receives an anonymous telephone call, which leads him to Niavaran Palace (currently a museum), where he is told to have a coffee and wait. The coffee (which is bitter) is ready and he duly drinks it, his sight becomes hazy, and when he manages to refocus he is in the year 1201 (1822 AD), and the story develops therein.

Introduction Music

As well as being a director and actor Modiri is also a classically trained musician and has performed in sell-out concerts all over Iran. Like his previous two series', he covers a famous Iranian song and invokes a classical twist for the intro. The song "Shabe Mahtab" was chosen for this particular series, as chosen by his son Farhad.

Running Jokes

• Kieh? KIEH?: Baba Eti, the paranoid schizophrenic father of the premier shouts this (meaning "who's there? who's there?) when he thinks he's heard someone behind him.
• Pedar Sookhte!: When Balad-Ol-Molk threatens someone (usually Mostashar) he starts by using something they've said, makes 4 or 5 deductions from that, and ends up accusing them of something completely unrelated, all the while raising his voice higher and higher, eventually erupting shouting this (which is a common Iranian curse) and violently whipping his head back and forth.
• Ahhh! Khodaye man!!: The over-emotional Blutooth begins almost every sentence with this (meaning Oh! My God!) before super-praising whoever he is talking to in order for them to like him. He also wears a bracelet of olives and offers an olive to his victims when he's done. This is a send-up of Greece and Greek people.

Parodies

A main feature of Mehran Modiri's series' in that he parodies Iranian society using characters and storylines within the series, which makes the storyline funny on more than one level. Some of the parodies of this series are listed below.

• Borzoo/Exaggeration: Throughout the programme Borzoo can be heard telling exaggerated or even fabricated stories about his time in war, when in fact before he became a General he was a waiter in a cafe. Borzoo also has a strong Mashhadi accent and Mashhadis are always accused of exaggeration in Iran.
• Balad/Reza Shah: Balad's character is meant to mirror that of Reza Shah (of course not formally), who also was an illiterate royal sheriff. The clothes worn by both Borzoo and Balad would have been the uniform worn in the period it is set in.
• Princess' wedding storyline: When planning the royal wedding, the royal family tell Mostashar not to make a huge ceremony, as the country's people are experiencing a tough time financially. They tell him to invite only 30,000 guests and have only 100 types of food cooked, amongst other things. This could be seen as a reminder of the extravagant wedding between Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah which took place in the face of growing poverty in Iran.

Reception

This was a very much anticipated series, as are all of Mehran Modiri's works, partly because it had been 4 years since his last major series work Baghe Mozaffar, discounting the two short series he did for the new years 1387 and 88, and partly because it had been rumoured to be ready for release the previous winter, and then the new year period for 89, before eventually being released at the end of the summer of 1389, and not on television but as a DVD release. As a result, according to the series' website, half a million copies of the first installment were sold on the first day of release alone.^[3] At first Ghahve-ye Talkh was planned to be a 90-episode comedy series.^[4] Story of Bitter Coffee, like recent Modiri works, is focused on critiquing aspects Iranian social behaviour.^[5]

Episodes

Episodes 01-03

In the first episode the director shows Nima Zandekarim as a history professor who has a difficult life. When no one values, cares, or pays attention to historical subjects, he decides to leave everything and go to his village and live with his parents. However, destiny changed his path and he met a lady, Roya Atabaki, and fell in love. With extravagant incidents, he traveled to the past (about 1780s).

Episodes 04-06

Nima thought he was in a film or TV series, but he was wrong: he was in the house of the Shah of Persia! He made the Shah angry and Shah wanted to kill him but the first treasurer of Persia asked king to forgive him and he was saved.

Episodes 07-09

After Nima's servants and his lucky fortune telling, he had a good place in the government. The Shah made him to Mostashar-Ol-Molk, but after a short time Shah was very sick and tired and decided to go to Russia for few months. After he came back he got a new wife named Catherine (Sogoli) and after this subject some extravagant things happened.

Episodes 28–30

These episodes are about how Mostashar and Bulutus get rid of colonel Topolof (brother of the king's Russian wife). The colonel was heard making plans to become the king by wedding the King's daughter. Episode 30 ends with Bluetooth getting married

References

Persianesque Magazine
Facebook fan page

External links