TEHRAN – Amin Amani, director of the historical drama “Unfinished Mystery” on the assassination of the Iranian prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, has said that his TV series is committed to truth.

The series, which has recently been completed, is actually a biopic about Bahonar, Iran’s second prime minister after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, who was assassinated by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) on August 30, 1981. 

Bahonar had earlier been selected as the secretary-general of the Islamic Republican Party after the assassination of the former president of the party, Ayatollah Mohammad-Hossein Beheshti, by the MKO on June 28, 1981.

“I did my best to avoid manipulating historical facts, biased attitudes, and exaggeration to give a proper image of the chapter of the history of our country,” Amani told the Persian service of FNA on Monday.   

“It was a difficult job to create the atmosphere of the period of the history because the series recounts a true historical story,” he noted  

He also found casting a difficult job in the historical genre as he had to find actors that closely resemble the real characters.

Amani also thanked makeup artist Shahram Khalaj for his collaboration in this project.

Farhad Jam, an actor in the popular series “The Spouses” co-directed by Bijan Birang and Masud Rasam in 1994, has been cast as Bahonar in “Unfinished Mystery”.

In addition, Ramin Rastad, star of acclaimed movies “Conditional Release” and “Friday Evening”, plays the role of Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a member of the Islamic Republican Party.

Alireza Mehran portrays the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. He earlier starred as Ayatollah Khamenei in Mohammadreza Varzi’s 2015 TV series “The Enigma of the Shah”.

Javad Hashemi plays the role of the then president, Mohammad-Ali Rajai, who was also killed in the assassination.

The shooting of the 26-episode series began in January 2021 in Iran, and the crew left the country to film some scenes on location outside the country. 

The series also centers on Masud Keshmiri, a member of the MKO who infiltrated the Islamic Republican Party and, coming up through the ranks, reached the position of secretary of the Supreme National Security Council before planting an incendiary bomb in his briefcase that detonated in the prime minister’s office, martyring Rajai and several others who were present.

Following the assassination of Bahonar and Rajai, Ayatollah Khamenei was selected as Iran’s third president after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.   
  
The series is scheduled to broadcast on the Channel 3 of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.    

Photo: Farhad Jam (L) and Ramin Rastad portray Mohammad-Javad Bahonar and Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a scene from the TV series “Unfinished Mystery”.

MMS