American series Lost to release in Iran soon

Tehran, Sep. 14 (ANI): Taking a cue from the soaring sale of its pirated DVDs in Iran, the American television series Lost, which is about plane crash survivors stranded on a remote island, is set to be released in the Islamic country.

After buying the broadcast rights and commissioning Iranian actors to dub it into Farsi, Iran's leading home video distributor Silver Screen is planning to market the award-winning show's first three seasons, The Guardian reports.

With a plan to air Lost on nationwide television, the distribution company is also engaged in talks with the state broadcaster, IRIB.

To suit Iranian sensibilities, programmes will be carefully censored to exclude "un-Islamic" scenes such as those featuring scantily clad women or male-female physical contact.

Iran's culture and Islamic guidance ministry is expected to approve the idea.

Earlier, Iran's former culture and Islamic guidance minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Harand had slammed the "Lost-mania" for trying to popularise "Zionist concepts".

However, others insisted the programme was suitable for an Iranian audience because it has eastern themes.

"The atmosphere of this story, due to our classic literature, is familiar to Iranian and eastern viewers. Eastern viewers can understand it better and would naturally like it.

"Because it has a religious theme, it is possible to broadcast 90 percent of it without censorship," The Guardian quoted TV critic Saeed Ghotbizadeh, as saying.

"But its brilliant and special characterisation might be sacrificed in Persian dubbing - a lot will depend on how well it is dubbed." (ANI)