'Sholay' Actor Dharmendra to Attend 'Salaam Mumbai' Opening in Tehran

Concurrent with the premiere of Iran-India joint movie production 'Salaam Mumbai' in December in Iran, the Indian producer and cast of the film along with the Bollywood veteran actor Dharmendra Deol will visit Tehran.

The movie screening is slated for December 1 across the country.

Indian actors Dia Mirza, Gulshan Grover, Dalip Tahil and Poonam Dhillon as well as the co-producer Pahlaj Nihalani and Dharmendra will arrive on December 2 to attend a special ceremony for the film at Tehran's Milad Tower on December 3 in the presence of the Indian invitees and the Iranian cast and crew, khabaronline.ir reported.

Dharmendra, 80, is a well-known Indian film actor who has received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cinema. His starring roles in action films earned him the nickname "Action King". One of his most notable roles was in 'Sholay', a 1975 Indian action-adventure film, which was quite popular among the Iranian audience.

Based on what the Iranian co-producer of the film Javad Norouzbeigi said, Dharmendra traveled to Iran some 40 years ago and met with the Iranian star of that time Mohammad Ali Fardin. "Now, after over 40 years, he is interested to visit Iran again. As he is a known figure for the Iranian film fans who have kept the memory of his performance in 'Sholay', we invited him to attend the debut screening of 'Salaam Mumbai' too," Norouzbeigi said.

The film is written and directed by the Iranian filmmaker Ghorban Mohammadpour.

  Breaking Boundaries

Breaking the boundaries and bringing Bollywood and Iran film industry together, the story is about two medical students from two different cultures and explores their tumultuous romantic relationship.

The Iranian actors include Mohammad Reza Golzar, Benyamin Bahadori, Shaili Mahmoudi and Behrooz Chaihel.

"Proving the point that entertainment brings cultures together, 'Salaam Mumbai' is the first cinematic co-production of Iran and Bollywood. The film touches the cultures and lifestyles of both Iran and India," producer Nihalani said earlier on the work.

The film will be released in about 3000 cinemas in India soon and will also be screened in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Arab countries.