Filmfarsi

The term is used to describe what was perceived as low-quality films mostly copied from the Bollywood cinema and with poor plots, mostly arranged with dance and singing.

[1][2] Filmfarsi were suppressed after the Iranian Cultural Revolution by more strict laws on relations between men and women, as well as religious opposition to the content of the films.

[4] Within Filmfarsi, there existed unique genres of film such as "Jāheli" (جاهلی), described by some as "hyper-masculine", in which tough male characters would save women from "a life of disgrace", such working as a prostitute or cabaret singer.

[7] The 1978 Cinema Rex fire is often seen as the catalyst for the demise of Filmfarsi; over 400 civilians were killed by SAVAK while attending a screening of the controversial movie "The Deer".

[8][9][10] After Iran became an Islamic Republic in 1979, many commonly seen features of Filmfarsi, such as women acting as an object of "sexual desire" or not wearing a hijab, were now frowned upon, and the genre was actively suppressed.