سنتوری | The Music Man / Santouri (2007)

Ali is a gifted santour player from a religious bazaar family, and the instrument costs him his place at home before it brings him fame. Santouri, directed by Dariush Mehrjui and also known in English as The Music Man, traces his journey from packed concerts and a happy marriage to the edge of ruin.

From the Bazaar to the Concert Stage

When his family discovers his devotion to the santour, Ali has to choose between them and music, and he chooses music. His talent makes him well known and his concerts draw unexpected crowds. At the height of his success he falls in love with Hanieh and marries her. Gradually, though, he slides into heroin addiction. His concerts stop receiving permits, he ends up playing at weddings and house parties, and the marriage begins to break apart. The film opens near the end of this story and moves back and forth in time, so the happy early days are always seen against what follows.

A title with two meanings

"Santouri" means a santour player, but in Persian slang "playing the santour" is also a euphemism for injecting heroin. The original title was Ali Santouri; it was shortened during the approval process.

Bahram Radan and Golshifteh Farahani

Bahram Radan plays Ali Bolourchi and Golshifteh Farahani plays Hanieh. The cast also includes Mahyar Pourhessabi as Tamayol, Ali's friend and bandmate, Siamak Khahani as the musician Javid, Roya Teymourian, Maedeh Tahmasebi as Hanieh's mother, Masoud Rayegan and Hassan Pourshirazi. In some scenes Radan and Ardavan Kamkar play the santour on screen.

Mohsen Chavoshi's Songs

The music is a large part of the film's identity. Mohsen Chavoshi sings the songs and composed music alongside Ardavan Kamkar, and the soundtrack later became the album Santouri. Many viewers remember the film through the song "Sang-e Sabour". Touraj Mansouri was the cinematographer and Mehdi Hosseinivand edited.

A Long Road to Release

Santouri premiered at the Fajr Film Festival in Bahman 1385 (early 2007) but was not given a general cinema release in Iran. A censored version came out on home video in Mordad 1389 (summer 2010). The film is a loose adaptation of Heinrich Böll's novel The Clown, and it also drew on the family memoirs of a writer from Shiraz about his elder brother's life.

Santouri FAQ

Santouri remains one of Mehrjui's most discussed later films, a love story and a cautionary tale carried by its music.