Director: Bahman Goodarzi
Cast: Soroush Sehat, Bahareh Rahnama, Mehran Ghafourian, Maryam Amirjalali, Kianoosh Gerami
Bi Setareh is a 2009 Iranian comedy-drama film directed by Bahman Goodarzi, following a man whose double life across two countries unravels in unexpected ways. The film blends family warmth with light comedic tension, landing squarely in the tradition of socially observant Iranian popular cinema.
What is Bi Setareh about?
Ahmad Reza falls in love with a young woman named Setareh back home in Iran and marries her before heading abroad to Japan for work. Far from home, loneliness and new circumstances pull him toward a second marriage, and he starts a family in Japan as well. Seven years pass, and when he finally returns to Iran, the two lives he has been keeping separate begin to collide. The film follows the consequences of his choices as the people around him — both families, close friends, and the community — react to what he has hidden for so long. The story is told with warmth rather than judgment, and its resolution leans into the comedic tradition of Iranian family films.
Cast & crew
Director Bahman Goodarzi brings together a strong ensemble anchored by Soroush Sehat in the lead role alongside Bahareh Rahnama and Mehran Ghafourian, who was a familiar face in Iranian popular comedies during this period. Maryam Amirjalali, Kianoosh Gerami, Morteza Rostami, Maryam Masoumi, and Ghobad Shapouri round out a cast that gives the material its lived-in, communal feel.
Context & significance
Bi Setareh belongs to a strand of Iranian family comedies that took shape in the 2000s — films built around the tension between traditional expectations and the pressures of modern life, often using the figure of the migrant or the returnee as a focal point. The premise of a man living between Iran and Japan gave filmmakers a way to explore questions of loyalty, identity, and belonging that resonated strongly with Persian-speaking audiences who themselves knew what it meant to keep two worlds in balance. For diaspora viewers, the emotional terrain is immediately recognizable: the push and pull between the life you built abroad and the one you left behind. The comedy here is never cruel; it uses misunderstanding and coincidence to arrive at something closer to forgiveness.
Where & how to watch
Bi Setareh is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no extra download needed, no VPN required, and no geo-blocking. Subscribe and cancel anytime.