Director: Pedram Alizadeh

Cast: Mohammadreza Golzar, Pegah Ahangarani, Ali Sarabi, Aida Keykhani, Khatereh Asadi

KhoshkSali Va Doroogh is a 2016 Iranian drama film directed by Pedram Alizadeh, written by playwright Mohammad Yaghoubi. Set against the backdrop of the Caspian coast, it is a sharp-tongued examination of the secrets couples carry — and the phone calls that crack them open.

What is KhoshkSali Va Doroogh about?

Omid is enjoying a birthday celebration with his wife and her relatives at a villa along the Caspian Sea — warm food, laughter, the kind of afternoon that feels borrowed from a better life. Then his phone rings. His former wife is on the other end with news that cannot be ignored, news that slowly pulls at the seams of everything Omid has carefully stitched together. As the evening progresses, comfortable silences give way to difficult conversations, and the gap between the life he presents to others and the life he has actually lived grows impossible to bridge. The film builds its tension not through dramatic confrontation but through what is left unsaid — in glances, in pauses, and in the lies that polite company requires.

Cast & crew

Mohammadreza Golzar leads the film as Omid, bringing a restrained charisma to a man whose charm is both his armour and his vulnerability. Pegah Ahangarani plays his wife, navigating a performance that shifts from warmth to quiet devastation. Ali Sarabi, Aida Keykhani, and Khatereh Asadi round out the intimate gathering with layered, naturalistic work. The ensemble was directed by Pedram Alizadeh, whose television background sharpens his feel for confined domestic spaces.

Context & significance

Iranian domestic dramas that explore the fault lines within modern middle-class marriage have a long tradition on screen, but KhoshkSali Va Doroogh — the title translates roughly as Drought and Lies — gives the genre a playwright's precision. Mohammad Yaghoubi's script was adapted from his own stage work, and it shows: the dialogue moves with theatrical confidence, each exchange revealing character through deflection rather than declaration. For diaspora viewers, the film touches on the particular pressure of maintaining appearances — a pressure that does not vanish when you move continents. The Caspian villa setting, instantly recognisable to anyone who summered in northern Iran, adds a layer of loaded nostalgia to what is otherwise a very contemporary emotional story.

Where & how to watch

KhoshkSali Va Doroogh is available on K-Time with the original Persian audio. Stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no extra download, and no geo-blocking. Cancel your membership anytime.