“Aghazadeh” is an Iranian TV show, created by Hamed Angha and directed by Behrang Tofighi. It is produced by Oj Arts and Media Organization. The story centers around Nima Bahri, the son of a powerful politician. Nima is a powerful corrupted rich man. Hamed Tehrani, the son of a powerful politician is an officer working for the government and is trying to arrest him. “Aghazadeh” is a chess game of power and money. The film uses elements of mafia and economic scandal movies in an Iranian drama. Films such as Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street” seem to inspire the story and its themes. Nima Bahri’s characterizations are similar to Gordon Gekko’s (played by Michael Douglas). Someone who only cares about winning, and not about the cost and consequences of his actions. The inspirations also reveal themselves by looking at those who work for Nima Bahri: a clever lawyer and a powerful man working for a mafia boss. Characters that resemble many stories with a similar theme.
The most important aspect that differentiates “Aghazadeh” from other Iranian shows about power and money is “Aghazadeh’s” bold authenticity. In “Aghazadeh” we are faced with a more realistic and Iranian image of the structure of power and the influence of money. Corrupted characters are not tie-wearing and alcohol-drinking people. But in the show, we are introduced to the children of religious-political social class, characters wearing three-inch collar shirts, which is associated with a religious and politically powerful Iranian social class. And we see these make arrangements with the ministers and ordering Lawyers to carry out their corrupted intentions.
The creators also tried to add a family melodrama tone to the story. As a result, there is a connection between Hamed’s wife and Nima Bahri that deepens the game of power in the story to a more personal level for the characters. In his shows, Angha has already shown his ability to make a popular melodrama. Similar to his previous shows such as “The Father” Angha does not only use romance to please the audience he also uses it as critical points in character arcs. Perhaps the most important example is the idea of an arrogant non-religious girl changing into a believing and humble girl through falling in love. This type of characterization and character arc cannot be considered new due to its history in Iranian cinema and TV shows but still seems to work very well.
Angha’s most risky approach to the story might be his decision to tell the story in a non-linear way. In this way, the plot is constantly moving through time. Events happen first, and then flashbacks are used to give the audience the necessary information to understand the significance of the events. This approach gives the show the potential of constantly surprising the audience but at the same time could be overused and eventually confuse and bore the audience.
You can reach this Iranian drama and lots of Iranian entertaining content on Televika.
