Is Leila (1997) based on a true story?

No, Leila is an original fictional story written and directed by Dariush Mehrjui. It draws on cultural and social observations about traditional Iranian family dynamics but is not adapted from a specific true event or biography.

Koja mitonam filme Leila ro online bebinam?

You can watch Leila in full on K-Time. No extra download or VPN is required — sign in, search for Leila, and the 1997 Mehrjui film streams directly in your browser or on your TV.

Does Leila have English subtitles?

K-Time streams Leila in its original Persian audio. Check the player's subtitle menu at playback for available subtitle options. The film is approachable for diaspora viewers comfortable with conversational Farsi.

What is the main theme of the film Leila?

The film centers on identity, sacrifice, and the tension between personal happiness and family obligation. It examines how societal and religious expectations around motherhood can erode an otherwise loving marriage from the inside out.

Leila

Name: Leila
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: 1997
Duration: 129 min
Cast: Leila Hatami, Ali Mosaffa, Shaghayegh Farahani, Mohammad‑Reza Sharifinia, Jamileh Sheykhi

Director: Dariush Mehrjui

Cast: Leila Hatami, Ali Mosaffa, Shaghayegh Farahani, Mohammad‑Reza Sharifinia, Jamileh Sheykhi

Leila is a 1997 Iranian drama film directed by Dariush Mehrjui, starring Leila Hatami and Ali Mosaffa as a newlywed couple whose tender marriage is slowly fractured by family pressure, cultural expectations, and the quiet devastation of infertility in a traditional society.

What is Leila about?

Shortly after a chance meeting at a communal celebration, Leila and Reza fall in love and marry. Their early happiness is shaken when medical consultations confirm that Leila cannot carry a child. Reza accepts their situation with genuine warmth, but his mother — fiercely attached to the idea of a male heir — refuses to let the matter rest. Caught between loyalty to her husband and a deep-seated sense of guilt, Leila gradually convinces herself that the honorable path is to encourage Reza to take a second wife. What follows is a slow, painful unraveling: Reza reluctantly begins meeting prospective brides while the emotional bond between the couple stretches and tears under the weight of a decision neither truly wants.

Cast & crew

Director Dariush Mehrjui is one of the founding voices of Iranian art cinema, known for psychologically grounded portraits of everyday life. Leila Hatami brings fragile precision to the title role, making every internal conflict visible without melodrama. Ali Mosaffa conveys Reza's helpless love with restraint, and Jamileh Sheykhi is quietly formidable as the domineering mother-in-law whose will reshapes the entire household.

Context & significance

Leila arrived at a pivotal moment for Iranian cinema, when filmmakers were finding international audiences for intimate stories told within strict social constraints. The film speaks directly to diaspora viewers who carry the weight of dual cultural codes — the expectation that a woman's worth is tied to motherhood, versus the private reality of modern partnership. Mehrjui frames the story not as polemic but as a study in how well-meaning people can be ground down by inherited norms. For Persian-speaking audiences outside Iran, the film's domestic claustrophobia and its portrait of a marriage tested by extended-family interference resonate across generations and geographies.

Where & how to watch

Leila is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. No VPN is needed and there is no geo-blocking — stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone. Subscription includes the full catalog; cancel anytime.