Director: Masoud Dehnamaki
Cast: Akbar Abdi, mohammadreza sharifinia
Ekhrajiha 3 is a 2011 Iranian action-comedy-drama film directed by Masoud Dehnamaki, continuing the beloved saga of misfit war veterans as they return to civilian life — older, scattered, and still unmistakably themselves — and reunite under the weight of a friend's medical crisis.
What is Ekhrajiha 3 about?
Years after the Iran-Iraq War, the notorious group of irregulars has dissolved into ordinary civilian routines. A television crew searching for surviving veterans tracks down several of the old comrades, each of whom has carved out a different path in peacetime. When one beloved member falls gravely ill and needs urgent hospital care, word spreads among the scattered group. Despite their changed appearances, their separate circumstances, and the distance that life has placed between them, the men find their way back to each other. The reunion is as much about loyalty and grief as it is about laughter, offering a bittersweet look at what brotherhood forged in wartime looks like a generation later.
Cast & crew
Akbar Abdi brings his signature blend of warmth and comic timing to the ensemble, a performer long associated with the emotional core of Iranian popular cinema. Mohammad Reza Sharifinia, one of the most recognizable faces in Iranian film, adds gravity and depth to the veteran characters. Director Masoud Dehnamaki both helmed and shaped the Ekhrajiha franchise from its origin.
Context & significance
The Ekhrajiha series occupies a unique space in Iranian popular culture, blending the Sacred Defense genre — films honoring the Iran-Iraq War — with broad comedy that made it accessible to audiences who might otherwise shy away from war narratives. For diaspora viewers, the trilogy represents a specific kind of Iranian collective memory: the generation that fought, survived, and then had to figure out what peacetime meant. The third installment adds a layer of mortality and nostalgia, themes that resonate deeply with Iranian communities abroad who often reflect on Iran's wartime past from a great distance.
Where & how to watch
Ekhrajiha 3 is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. Watch on your TV, computer, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, no extra download required. Sign up and cancel anytime.