The series ‘Aspirin’ is the new work in Iran’s home video network whose first episode was released in the market on Monday, June 13, across the country.
Basically a psychological drama, the engaging story features several layers with action, mystery and black comedy elements to attract audiences of different tastes, Mehr News Agency reported.
Written, directed and produced by the young filmmaker Farhad Najafi, 33, the series tells the story of a doctor who decides to conduct odd experiments on one of his male patients, Nima, in a secret research project titled ‘Aspirin’. However, things do not go as intended and get out of his control. Nima who suffers in the experiments and has his memory impaired tries to uncover his past.
“The story is like a puzzle that the viewers need to focus on to find the right pieces to complete it,” Najafi said.
Emphasizing the importance of the script, the director said that it took a group of writers more than a year to complete the script for the first season. “Working on the puzzles was the most difficult part of the task,” as they wanted the audience to carefully follow all the scenes and discover the hidden answers to the riddles.
Earlier in May, the first season of the popular series ‘Shahrzad’ ended after its 28 episodes were distributed weekly over 8 months. The series became a hit in the home video network and a benchmark in series production due to its powerful story, a romance drama set in a historical context, and fine performances of its star-studded cast.
Now, a month later, ‘Aspirin’ is there to keep families entertained with a completely new story and form.
Plot-Driven Script
Pointing to the differences of his series with successful works such as ‘Shahrzad’, Najafi said, “Similar to many Iranian works, it is also character-driven in which the viewers need to follow the fate of certain characters in the story. However, ‘Aspirin’ benefits a plot-driven script where the central conflict originates from a source outside of the main character”.
As he said, many famous foreign series take advantage of such a plot and the Iranian audiences are bound to enjoy ‘Aspirin’.
The production of the first season started last winter and now that it is ready for the market, the makers are preparing for the second season. The script is currently being written and Najafi will travel to Turkey to choose location sets there as the story of the next season will partly ensue in Turkey.
Meanwhile, the script for the second season of ‘Shahrzad’ is being written by Hassan Fathi, who is also director.
“Our next season will be available sooner than ‘Shahrzad’ as we plan to release each season every six months,” Najafi said.
Alirum Nurayi, Farokh Nemati, Majid Salehi, Homayoun Ershadi, Ziba Borufeh, Ronak Yunesi, Shaqayeq Farahani, Sahar Qoreyshi, Sara Khoeiniha, Mehrdad Ziai, Ali Ansarian, Mehdi Mahani and Hadi Kazemi together with the Italian actress Isabella Piquini are among the many actors of the series.
Designed for four seasons of 15 episodes, the series will be released every Monday in the market in the form of a DVD. Iranians outside the country can also follow the series as it is available online in two websites: appido.ir and iseema.ir.
