Mahdavian returns with a national project
According to Cinemadrame News Agency, Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, after completing the screenplay written by Mehdi Yazdani Khorm and in collaboration with Azam Behrooz, began the process of obtaining a film permit for the feature film Khoon-e Sohrab (Sohrab’s Blood), produced by Mohammad Reza Takht Kashian. This film is an adaptation of the epic Rostam and Sohrab, a timeless work by Abolqasem Ferdowsi.
Khoon-e Sohrab will soon enter pre-production, and its cast will be introduced shortly.
We know that Mahdavian started his career with the Avaj Organization, when he made Istadeh Dar Ghobar (Standing in the Dust) with all its challenges, managing to present a new style of filmmaking to the audience. The film, about martyr Mottavaselian, eventually gained the approval of the martyr’s family after many scenes were cut, and he truly shone. After that, this director made several feature films, from Majeraye Nimrooz 1 and 2 (The Incident of Noon) which historians criticized for historical inaccuracies, to Lottery, where it was rumored that the Razavi Award was for the Majeraye Nimrooz, and the latest, Leather Jacket Man, which, like his previous work The Loser Man, offered a different genre and sparked fierce criticism for the similarities between their screenplays. Critics believed that in The Loser Man, he portrayed the system negatively, whereas in the latter, it was portrayed positively, although this criticism was not accepted by him. Mahdavian then moved on to the home video network. One of this filmmaker’s characteristics is assembling a team for both series and filmmaking, which, although effective in Zakhme Kari (Work Injury), faced much criticism, and many considered seasons two, three, and four of this series a complete failure in his career. Now, he, along with Takht Kashian, is returning to cinema to have another experience with Mehdi Yazdani Khorm.
It is still unclear whether the Avaj Organization will support this feature film. There were numerous criticisms directed at him when he released Shishlik at the Fajr Film Festival, the same film that is still banned, with Mahdavian’s former associates claiming it crossed governmental red lines due to its subject matter. Despite all of this, the pre-production process for the feature film has begun. After Otello, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Mahdavian has turned to the story of Rostam and Sohrab. Khoon-e Sohrab is an adaptation of the epic Rostam and Sohrab, written by Mehdi Yazdani Khorm in collaboration with Azam Behrooz.
Yazdani Khorm and Mahdavian once collaborated on the film Matrood (Rejected), whose screenplay was banned. Additionally, Mehdi Yazdani Khorm’s novel Sorkh Sefid (Red and White), the rights to which were purchased three years ago, will most likely be Mahdavian’s next series project.
