Director: Siamak Yasemi
Cast: Behrouz Vossoughi, Reza Beyk Imanverdi, Afarin Obeisi, Homayun, Victoria Nerssisian
Leyli o Majnoon is a 1970 Iranian drama film directed by Siamak Yasemi, retelling the ancient Persian love legend of Leyli and Majnoon — two souls whose devotion to each other is tested by fate, family, and the unforgiving forces of nature across 140 minutes of emotionally charged storytelling.
What is Leyli o Majnoon about?
Qays falls desperately in love with Leyli, a woman whose family forbids their union. Driven mad by longing — earning him the name Majnoon, meaning 'the mad one' — he wanders through deserts and villages, calling her name to the wind. Leyli, bound by duty and tradition, endures her own quiet suffering behind closed doors. Their passion is real and consuming, yet every attempt to bridge the distance between them is blocked by social custom and circumstance. The film builds toward a tragic conclusion that has haunted Persian literature for centuries: a sandstorm descends, and the two lovers are finally joined — but only in death.
Cast & crew
Behrouz Vossoughi, one of Iranian cinema's most celebrated leading men of the pre-revolution era, brings raw emotional intensity to the role of Majnoon. Reza Beyk Imanverdi plays a key supporting figure, and the ensemble — including Afarin Obeisi, Homayun, Victoria Nerssisian, Homayoon Bahadoran, Rafi Halati, and Habibollah Boloor — grounds the classical story in vivid human detail under Yasemi's direction.
Context & significance
The legend of Leyli and Majnoon is one of the foundational love stories of Persian and broader Islamic literary tradition, adapted across centuries in poetry by Nizami Ganjavi and countless others. Siamak Yasemi's 1970 film — a joint Iranian-Turkish production — brought this timeless tale to the screen at a high point of pre-revolution Iranian commercial cinema. For diaspora viewers, watching this film is an encounter with a shared cultural inheritance: the ache of forbidden love, the cost of social conformity, and the endurance of longing that Persian poetry has always held at its center. The film carries the weight of a story every Persian-speaking family knows.
Where & how to watch
Leyli o Majnoon is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. Watch it on the web browser, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and no extra download required. Sign up once and cancel anytime.