The country’s top stand-up comedians were introduced in the final round of the ‘Best Stand-up Comedian’ competition held in the last episode of the popular entertainment program ‘Khandevaneh’ shown on Iranian TV Nasim Channel.
Part of the ‘Khandevaneh’ show, the contest ended on October 13 with the announcement of the duo finalist as the winner and the two competitors eliminated in the semi-finals as joint runners-up.
Comedian Mehran Ghafurian and satirist Amie-Mehdi Juleh who defeated their rivals in the previous three stages received the gold medal and a commendation plaque for the best stand-up comedians from veteran comedian Alireza Khamseh who was also a participant in the contest but was ruled out in the first stage. Comedian Javad Razavian and satirist Ali Masoudi got the silver medal and the plaque.
Ghafurian and Juleh, gave a hilarious performance together making the audience laugh their heads off.
The contest started two months ago when 16 comedians and satirists were drawn to compete in pairs. The winner of each competition was decided by the viewers by vote through SMS designed for the program.
Popular comedians Reza Shafiei-Jam, Bijan Banafashehkhah, Nader Soleimani, Amin Hayai, Shaqayeq Dehqan and Elika Abdolrazaqi were among the participants.
Stand-up comedy is a comic style in which a comedian performs in front of a live audience, and usually speaks directly to them. The performer is commonly known as a comic, stand-up comic, stand-up comedian, or simply a stand-up.
In stand-up comedy, the comedian usually recites humorous stories, jokes and makes witty one-liners typically called a monologue, routine, or act. Some stand-up comedians use props, music, or magic tricks to enhance their acts.
This type of comedy was introduced to Iranians more than a year ago through ‘Khandevaneh’ - which roughly translates as ‘laughmelon’ as it is a combination of ‘khandeh’ (laughter) and ‘hendavaneh’ (watermelon).
Youth Appeal
Aired on Nasim, an IRIB TV channel to broadcast fun and entertainment programs, ‘Khandevaneh’ soon proved to be a huge hit among the programs shown on several national TV channels. The show was successful in reaching out to mostly the young people because it touched on issues appealing to the youth.
The telecast, directed and hosted by the popular actor/director Rambod Javan, 44, included different parts like talk show, live music and stand-up comedy, all performed before the audience, an important feature as they contributed to the lively atmosphere of the show by applauding and laughing throughout the program.
Although a number of Iranians have previously dabbled in stand-up, the genre was not much known to the public till Javan introduced it routinely in his program by inviting comedians and satirists to perform a stand-up show in front of the audience as well as the cameras.
In the last episode, Javan asked the viewers to keep laughing for 25 seconds every day, something he had done in every episode of the program since he believes the “society today needs joviality. Moreover laughing is good for health”.
Saying farewell to the viewers, he said he will continue the program next year after a break, as the crew involved in the production “need to rest for some time.”
Javan has acted in more than 30 films and TV series and won the best supporting actor award at the 31st FIFF.
He has also directed four TV series and three feature films, and plans to make his fourth film to be shown at the 34th Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF) next February.
