Azadeh Moaveni

At a recent grand fete thrown by the ambassador of a prominent European nation, Iranian guests mingled with foreigners and both munched on tartlets and sipped fruit juice. A crowd began to gather around one particular Iranian male, who reluctantly began signing autographs. The Europeans did not recognize him and began whispering amongst themselves as to who he might be. A footballist? A pop star? They dispatched a Lebanese friend (wily Europeans sending an Oriental emissary) to discern the cause of his celebrity. ‘So just who are you, and why is everyone taking your picture?’ she asked him. The mystery man adjusted his lapels, and tried not to look offended at this astonishing display of ignorance. ‘Perhaps it is because I am an ACTOR,’ he said, turning to his devoted crowd. So who was he? My friends, he was no less than Mohammed Reza Golzar, the famous Iranian ACTOR. The Europeans concluded his features were too perfect and thus made him too classically beautiful to be actually attractive. The Iranians did not share this view and thronged him throughout the evening.