IRANIAN prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a theatre company after a female actress rested her head on a male actor on stage.
Lackeys of Tehran’s savage mullahs claim the behaviour violates the country’s standard of public decency and was a “violation of social norms.”
An audience members shared footage of popular play Tehran Paris Tehran, being staged at Book Garden, showing Fatemeh Masoudifar leaning her head toward Mehrdad Sedighian’s chest.
Mehrdad places his hand over her head as she appears to tightly embrace him.
Due to strong religious rules in the Islamic Republic, physical contact between unrelated or unmarried men and women in public is strictly prohibited.
Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, scrutinised the scene, saying it was indicative of what it described as “the gradual erosion of the boundaries governing artistic freedom and public conduct”.
They wrote: “It seems there is no supervision over theater stages.”
The production company responded to the controversy saying it was all a misunderstanding as the angle of the video misconstrues the true distance between the actors.
Moreover, the moment depicts a brother and sister interacting during a “moment of crisis”, meaning they have not broken or offended any Islamic laws.
They added that they have since changed the actors’ positions in the scene to avoid further misunderstanding.
Tehran Paris Tehran follows Sara, a young girl who embarks on a journey from Iran to France and back to avenge her father’s murder.
It comes after recent backlash in Iran for its response to violations of the Islamic Republic’s social and religious restrictions.
Authorities have increasingly handed out severe punishments such as women facing flogging sentences for singing without compulsory hijabs alongside male musicians.
Singer Parastoo Ahmadi and seven others involved in a concert at the historic Caravanserai were each sentenced to 74 lashes, a two-year ban on audiovisual and musical activity and a two-year travel ban.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/17065734/iran-probe-actress-rests-head-on-actors-chest/