Heals with a Song

Golshifteh Farahani in a scene from Exodus: Gods and Kings

She is one of Iran’s most talked-about exports to Hollywood in recent years. Actor Golshifteh Farahani was recently seen opposite Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and Kings and is also the leading lady in the next installment of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales alongside Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem. The much-in-news actor has been signed by Qissa director Anup Singh for his next, titled Mantra: The Song of Scorpions.

A Swiss, French and Indian co-production, the film tells the story of a woman singer from a traditional healing community in Rajasthan, said to cure poisonous scorpion bites in the region with her singing. Farahadi’s character sets out on a mystical journey to gain control over her destiny. A tale of twisted love, revenge and the redemptive power of music, the film has Irrfan playing her lover. The Tehran-born actor gained international attention after her film with Iranian director Asghar Farhadi — About Elly — won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.

She was exiled from Iran in 2012 after she posed nude for a French magazine.

sankhayan.ghosh@expressindia.com