A photojournalist trades his camera for a street sweeper's orange uniform in Narenji Poosh, Dariush Mehrjui's 2012 black comedy about dignity, obsession, and the quiet chaos of modern life in Tehran.
What is Narenji Poosh about?
Hamed is a professional photographer whose life has drifted out of order: his marriage is strained, his apartment is buried under clutter, and his work no longer satisfies him. A chance encounter with ideas about order and cleanliness pushes him toward an unusual decision — he puts on the orange uniform of Tehran's municipal cleaners and begins sweeping the streets himself. What starts as a personal experiment grows into a consuming mission, one that baffles his colleagues, alarms his family, and puts his marriage under real pressure. As Hamed reorganises the world around him one street at a time, the people closest to him must decide whether they are watching a breakdown or a strange kind of awakening.
About the cast
Hamed Behdad carries the picture as the photographer-turned-sweeper, giving the character a restless, wiry energy that keeps the comedy grounded. Homayoun Ershadi — internationally recognisable from his long arthouse career — brings calm gravity to the supporting cast, and Ali Abedini rounds out the ensemble.
Context & significance
Narenji Poosh arrived late in the career of Dariush Mehrjui, one of the founding figures of the Iranian New Wave, whose earlier work helped define modern Iranian cinema. He wrote the screenplay with Vahideh Mohammadifar, his frequent collaborator, and the pair use the black-comedy frame to poke at consumer clutter, urban waste, and the social status attached to certain kinds of work. Released in 1390 on the Iranian calendar (2012), the film runs 107 minutes and sits in the lighter, more satirical corner of Mehrjui's filmography — closer in spirit to his social comedies than to his heavier dramas.
Watching Narenji Poosh on K-Time
Narenji Poosh streams on K-Time with a free account login — the page you are reading is open to everyone, and signing in unlocks playback. K-Time is built for the Iranian diaspora, with a Farsi-friendly interface and a catalogue centred on Persian-language cinema, so Mehrjui's Tehran plays exactly as intended, on TV, phone, or in the browser.