Aida Mohammadkhani (Persian: آیدا محمدخانی, born on June 2, 1988) is an Iranian actress working in Persian film. She is best known for her highly acclaimed portrayal of an innocent child who lost her money on the way to buy Gold Fish from the market in the film The White Balloon - 1995, directed by Jafar Panahi.
| Aida Mohammadkhani | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1988 Tehran,Iran |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1994 to 1998 |
| Parents |
Ali Akbar (Father) Azra Mohammadi (Mother) |
Contents |
It is the eve of the Iranian New Year. The film opens in a Teheran market where seven year old Razieh Aida Mohammadkhani and her mother are shopping. Aida sees a goldfish in a shop and begins to nag her hurrying mother to buy it for the festivities instead of the skinny ones in her family's pond at home. Almost all of the film's major characters are briefly seen in this market scene, though they won't be introduced to the viewer until later. On their way home, mother and daughter pass a courtyard where a crowd of men has gathered to watch two snake charmers. Aida wants to see what is happening but her mother pulls her away, telling her that it is not good for her to watch those things.
Back home, Aida is upset about her mother's refusal to let her buy a new goldfish, but continues her campaign of nagging. Her older brother Ali, Mohsen Kafili returns from a shopping errand for their father who, although remains unseen has a tangible presence causing tension in the family. He complains that he asked Ali to buy shampoo, not soap, then throws the soap at him. Ali sets off to buy the shampoo and when he returns Aida enlists his help in changing her mother's mind about the goldfish, bribing him with a balloon. Insisting that she can buy the goldfish in the market for 100 tomans ("You're crazy," Ali tells her, remarking that he can see two films with that money), Aida finally gets her wish. Her mother gives her the family's last 500-toman banknote and asks her to bring back the change. Aida sets off with an empty glass jar to the fish shop a few blocks away.
Between their home and the fish store, Aida loses the money twice, first in an encounter with the snake charmer, and then when she drops the money through the grate at the entrance of a store which has been closed for the New Year celebration.
Aida and Ali make several attempts to retrieve the money and receive assistance from many people, including the owners of nearby shops and an Iranian soldier. The money, however, is always just out of reach. Finally, the siblings receive help from a young Afghan street vendor selling balloons. He carries all of his balloons on a wooden stick, and has only one balloon, a white one, left. The group attaches a piece of gum to one end of the balloon stick, and with it, they reach down through the grate and pull the money out.
The film ends, not with Ali and Aida, but with the young Afghan boy, who has become an important character only at the very end of the film.
Aida was born in Tehran. She is the second eldest among four siblings.
In 1995 Aida made her acting debut in award winning film The White Balloon, playing the child protagonist Aida, a film by Jafar Panahi at the age of seven years. After achieving huge successful in the movie The White Balloon, Aida again acted in the film Raaz Mina, directed by Abbas Rafei in 1996 and another film called Ebrahim directed by Hamidreza Mohseni in 1998.
Including the above film career, Aida also worked in Iranian Television serial name (Persian: سرزمين سبز) and Street rain Persian: کوچه های باران).
She is currently pursuing her master degree in Clinical Psychology at Alzahra University, Tehran
The White Balloon
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