Director: Ahmad Reza Mo'tamedi
Cast: Akbar Abdi, Elnaz Shakerdoust, Dariush Arjmand, Jamshid Hashempour, Hamid Lolaei
Ghaede Bazi is a 2007 Iranian comedy-family film directed by Ahmad Reza Mo'tamedi, starring Akbar Abdi in a farcical portrait of a double life — one man, two households, two neighborhoods, and the mounting chaos that follows when separate worlds begin to collide.
What is Ghaede Bazi about?
A middle-aged man has managed to keep two separate families completely unaware of each other for years. One household sits in a modest working-class district on the south side of the city, the other in a more affluent northern neighborhood. Both wives believe themselves to be his only spouse, and both have children with him. The film follows the increasingly frantic measures this man takes to shuttle between his dual obligations — anniversary dates, school events, unexpected visitors — while frantically patching the cracks that keep threatening to bring the whole arrangement crashing down. The comedy escalates as minor slips snowball into full-blown crises, and the people closest to him edge ever nearer to the truth.
Cast & crew
Akbar Abdi, one of Iranian cinema's most beloved comic actors, anchors the film with his signature blend of physical comedy and genuine warmth. He is joined by Elnaz Shakerdoust, Dariush Arjmand, Jamshid Hashempour, Hamid Lolaei, Gohar Kheyrandish, Saeed Poursamimi, and Maryam Saadat, a seasoned ensemble that gives each household its own distinct comedic texture.
Context & significance
Iranian family comedies have long used the structure of domestic deception to expose social contradictions — class divides, gender expectations, and the gap between public respectability and private reality. Ghaede Bazi sits squarely in that tradition, wrapping its social commentary in broad slapstick accessible to the whole family. For diaspora audiences, the film's contrast between the south-city and north-city milieus carries added resonance, sketching a Tehran geography that many viewers left behind. It is the kind of film that works as both light entertainment and an affectionate snapshot of everyday Iranian urban life in the mid-2000s.
Where & how to watch
Ghaede Bazi is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Watch on the web browser, your TV, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, no extra download required. Subscribe and cancel anytime.