Director: Seyed Jalaledin Dari
Cast: Mehdi Pakdel, Mitra Hajjar, Saeid Poursamimi, Siamak Safavi
Nargese Mast is a 2020 Iranian drama-romance film directed by Seyed Jalaledin Dari, centering on an elderly master of the tar — a classical Persian string instrument — whose evening sessions with a circle of young musicians blur the line between teaching, memory, and longing.
What is Nargese Mast about?
An aging tar virtuoso gathers a small group of eager young players around him, passing on the centuries-old techniques of Persian classical music through practice, argument, and quiet storytelling. As the sessions unfold, the old man's mind drifts between the room before him and a vanished world of legendary Iranian musicians he once knew or admired. The film moves at a contemplative pace, letting melody and silence carry what words cannot: the weight of a tradition clinging to life, and the uncertain future it is trying to hand off to the next generation. Warmth and melancholy coexist in equal measure.
Cast & crew
Director Seyed Jalaledin Dari draws on a cast rooted in serious Iranian stage and screen work. Mehdi Pakdel anchors the film as the elderly musician, bringing physical stillness and emotional depth to the role. Mitra Hajjar, Saeid Poursamimi, and Siamak Safavi form the surrounding ensemble, each lending the production a sense of lived authenticity that sustains its slow-burn rhythm.
Context & significance
For diaspora viewers who grew up with Persian classical music in the background — radif lessons, cassettes of masters like Shajarian or Lotfi playing softly in another room — Nargese Mast lands as an act of cultural preservation as much as storytelling. The tar has carried Iranian musical identity across generations of displacement, and a film that places it at the centre of human connection speaks directly to communities living far from where that music was born. At 200 minutes, it asks for patience and rewards those who give it.
Where & how to watch
Nargese Mast is available to stream on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Watch on your browser, TV, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, no extra download required. Cancel your K-Time membership anytime.