Barareh Nights


Barareh Nights is a 2005 Iranian satire television series broadcast by the IRIB network. The series ended after 92 episodes; the storyline of Barareh was not complete. It aired in Iran daily at 8:00 p.m. Tehran time on Channel 3. Rebroadcast outside of the country was daily on IRIB 1 and IRIB 2. The last show episode aired Thursday 1 December 2005. It was directed by Mehran Modiri.

Description

The show is set in the fictional village of Barareh in Iran of the 1930s, during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, whose picture can be seen on the set. The village people have their own Persian dialect which humorously modifies the language. In addition to this, the Barareans also have certain customs and rituals which at times are comical, such as their method of eating chick peas—by slapping individual peas from palm into mouth. The village of Barareh is believed by many be a microcosm of Iran. The town is split along the lines of Upper and Lower Barareh, which allegedly mimics the difference between the classes in modern-day Iran. Events in the village, such as football matches, village council elections and marriage closely mirror today's Iran.
The show stars Mehran Modiri, as Shir Farhad, the son of Lower Barareh's khan, or leader. He lives with his sister, Saharnaz; mother, Shadoneh; and father, Salar Khan. The show begins when a journalist, Kiyanoosh, from Tehran is arrested for writing an article criticizing the government, escapes capture, and then is bitten by a snake. Shir Farhad finds him collapsed and brings him to the village of Barareh, nurtures him to health, and gradually introduces him to the town and the other characters in the show, such as the families of Upper and Lower Barareh's Khans, as well as the flamboyant village poet, Bagoori, and village doctor. Later in the series, new characters such as the village gendarme and Upper Barareh's Khan's son and daughter, Keivoon and Leiloon, join the cast. Davooneh doesn't appear in this.

Regular casts

; Lower Barrareh
; Upper Barrareh
; Other characters
; Imaginary characters
Barareh Nights is the prequel to Mehran Modiri's 2002 serial, Pavarchin. Whilst not taking place in Barareh, Pavarchin introduced the oddities and strange behaviours of Barareans. The series also has many of the cast members from Modiri's earlier works such as Pavarchin, Noghtechin, and Jayezeye Bozorg.