# Bitter Coffee

Bitter Coffee (Persian: قهوه تلخ Ghahve-ye Talkh) is an Iranian historical-comedy series directed by Mehran Modiri and produced by Majid Aghagolian and Hamid Aghagolian. Three episodes are released at a time (roughly every week) on three VCD or one DVD, priced in Iran at 25000 rials (at that time approximately $2.50). The first set of episodes were released on 13 September 2010.

## Background and controversy

Production of the series began in June 2009. Bitter Coffee was meant to be produced for television, to be broadcast by the IRIB, but due to various disagreements between IRIB and the series' producers, it didn't air. An alleged reason for disagreement between the producers and IRIB was that the producers required all of the advertisement for the series to be used as their payment, but IRIB refused to agree. Another rumoured reason was disagreement about the planned content of the series. IRIB officials eventually refused to show Bitter Coffee, and the series was eventually distributed in VCD format, at various outlets throughout Iran.

## Cast

| Name | Role | Title in Persian | Regular/Support | Description of Role |
| Siamak Ansari | Royal Counselor | Mostashar-Ol-Molk | Regular | He is a historian who travels back in time to become a royal counselor, or Mostashar-Ol-Molk. |
| Mehran Modiri | Great Bluetooth | Bluetooth-e-Kabir | Regular | He is seemingly a defected Greek prince. |
| Mohammad-Reza Hedayati | King of Iran | Jahangir-shahe Doloo | Regular | He is an aged King of Iran. |
| Sahar Zakaria | Princess | Lo'bat-Al-Molook | Regular | She, as the eldest daughter of Shah, is single, waiting for her prince of dreams to propose. |
| Elika Abdol-Razzaghi | Queen of Iran | Fakhr-Ot-Taj | Regular | As Queen, she wants to maintain her authority in the royal enterprise. |
| Sahar Jafari Jozani | Royal secretary and premier's daughter | Naz Khatoon | Regular | After having her studies finished in France, she returns to Iran to become royal secretary. And she falls in love with Royal Counselor. |
| Borzoo Arjmand | Army General | Borzoo Khan-e-Sepah Salar | Regular | As a relatively naive man, he only pretends to be in love with premier's daughter to succeed him as the premier. |
| Aref Lorestani | Royal Sheriff | Balad-Ol-Molk | Regular | Despite being the sheriff, he engages in various illegal activities. |
| Hadi Kazemi | Father of the King | Baba Shah | Regular | As a painter, his only preoccupation is to rival father of the premier. |
| Javad Ezzati | Father of the premier | Baba Eti | Regular | Affected by Schizophrenia, he is a source of laughter in the whole series. |
| Mandana Soori | Shah's sister | Gheysar-Os-Saltaneh | Regular | She's the Shah's twin sister who marries Baba Eti. |
| Reza Fieze Norouzi | Premier | Etemad-Ol-Molk Deylami | Regular | He is just trying to gather wealth, maintain his position, and succeed Shah. |
| Maryam Bakhshi | Prime minister's wife and Shah's sister-in-law | Akhtar-Al-Molook | Regular | It seems that her only duty is to covet her sister the Queen and try to convince royal family to accept her son as their son-in-law. |
| Bijan Banafshekhah | Chief of Iran's colonies and premier's elder son | Bikhodi-Ol-Molk Deylami | Regular | He, as stupid and useless as one can be, is in love with Shah's daughter. The so-called colonies he administers (which do not exist at all) include France, Russia, etc. |
| Shayan Ahadifar | History Writer and prime minister's younger son | Gonjeshk | Regular | He seems to be the only clever man in whole royal enterprise. However, he deliberately distorts facts he documents to be read by later generations, in order to demonstrate a more humane, clever image of Shah and Premier (his father). |
| Reza Nikkhah | Royal astrologer and treasurer | Nostra Khan Damoos-Ol-Molk | Regular | His name has something to do with Nostradamus, but he doesn't know how to foresee future as the royal astrologer. Hence, he makes dumb predictions which usually turn to be funny. |
| Ali Lak-Pooriyan | Royal Jester | Dambool-Os-Saltaneh | Regular | He does every common thing that a jester does. |
| Shaghayegh Rahimi-Rad | | Malih-Os-Saltaneh | Regular | Dambool's wife |
| Saed Hedayati | Royal doctor | Dava-Ol-Molk | Regular | Only adept in curing simple diseases such as the common cold, he is more of a parasite in the royal enterprise. |
| Shadi Ahadifar | Court doctress | Zaeef-Os-Saltaneh | Regular | As the wife of Royal Doctor, she deals with some women affairs. |
| Nader Soleimani | Royal Chef | Gherghi | Regular | As the royal chef, he is sometimes involved in conspiracies planned by other top officials. |
| Falamak Joneidi | Royal Chef's Wife | Kabootar | Regular | Not only involved in kitchen issues, she is a news source in the royal enterprise, kind of a wire service of old times. |
| Ramin Pooriman | Royal courtesan | Eghbal Khan | Regular | He organizes the events at court. |
| Fatemeh Hashemi | Royal midwife | Hamdam | Regular | She tries to be faithful to the Queen, but sometimes betrays her. |
| Aram Jafari | Russian Lady of the Shah | Katherine the Boy-Maker | Regular | Since the Shah has no son to succeed him, he marries a gorgeous Russian to make a boy. As expected, a tough rivalry occurs between this Russian lady and the Queen. |
| Sam Noori | Interpreter | French-Os-Saltaneh | Regular | He translates for the foreign guests of the palace, also tries in vain to teach Borzoo French in order for him to win Naz Khatoon's heart. |
| Hamid Kashani | Royal executioner | Shokoofeh | Regular | Despite his name meaning "blossom", he is very cruel. |
| Saeid Pirdoost | Owner of a Cafe in Bazaar | Morshed | Regular | He is the wise man of the story. |
| Ramin Naser-Nasir | | Bolookat | Regular | A lawyer who travels back in time and becomes a member of the Royal Senate. |
| Yousef Sayyadi | | Feri-Os-Saltaneh | Regular | A restaurant owner who travels back in time and becomes the diet coach of the Shah. |
| Arash Nozari | | Pari-Al-Doleh | Regular | A building manager who travels back in time and becomes the head of servants. He's in love with Ziba. |
| Arash Nozari | | Ziba | Regular | A stylist who travels back in time. The Shah falls in love with her and tries to convince her to marry him. She desires to become a queen one day. |
| Darya Aminiyan | | Manij-Os-Saltaneh | Support | Damoos's wife |
| Shima Mo'meni | | Kaniz-Os-Saltaneh | Support | Balad's wife |
| Amir Farzam | Soldier | Bahram | Support | He works for Balad along with Mohsen, in detaining and keeping order in the palace. |
| Mehdi Nateghi | Soldier | Mohsen | Support | He works for Balad along with Bahram, in detaining and keeping order in the palace. |
| Azadeh Mehdizadeh | | Josephine | Support | Katherine's lady-in-waiting |
| Biuk Mirzaee | Thug | Teimur | Support | He orchestrates assassination attempts and other crime. He can always be found at the bazaar. |
| Sepand Amirsoleimani | | Arshia | Support | A doorkeeper who works with Pari-Al-Doleh. |
| Hossein Rahmani Manesh | | | | |

## Storyline

The series begins with history teacher Nima Zande-Karimi (Siamak Ansari) realising that his extensive research on Persian and world history is of little use to financing his day-to-day life. He is about to leave Tehran for good to go back to his hometown by the name of Darab, when he comes across young university student Roya Atabaki (Sahar Jafari-Jozani) who is researching for her final year dissertation, which is regarding the period 1198–1203, that is said to be a period of turmoil for Iran's ruling elite. Such turmoil that, very few books are available on that period for Roya's research. It is then that Nima receives an anonymous telephone call, which leads him to Niavaran Palace (currently a museum), where he is told to have a coffee and wait. The coffee (which is bitter) is ready and he duly drinks it, his sight becomes hazy, and when he manages to refocus he is in the year 1201 (1822 AD), and the story develops therein.

## Reception

This was a very much anticipated series, as are all of Mehran Modiri's works, partly because it had been 4 years since his last major series work Baghe Mozaffar, discounting the two short series he did for the new years 1387 and 88, and partly because it had been rumoured to be ready for release the previous winter, and then the new year period for 89, before eventually being released at the end of the summer of 1389, and not on television but as a DVD release. As a result, according to the series' website, half a million copies of the first installment were sold on the first day of release alone. At first Ghahve-ye Talkh was planned to be a 90-episode comedy series. Story of Bitter Coffee, like recent Modiri works, is focused on critiquing aspects of Iranian social behaviour.