TV presenter gives a different take on the world

Iranian Arash Estilaf appears on a TV program in China. He hopes to dispel many misunderstandings about his country. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Between the laughs, an education about Iran

Arash Estilaf, an Iranian actor and TV presenter in China, hopes that through his small-screen work Chinese get a bigger picture of his homeland.

Estilaf, 27, from Teheran, has become a big name in China in recent years thanks to humor.

Better known by his Chinese name, Hua Bobo, he is one of 12 international presenters of Informal Talks, an entertainment show on Hubei TV that covers current affairs and cultural.

Before President Xi Jinping began a visit to Iran on Friday, the country had been much discussed in the Chinese media. Many misunderstandings about the country persist, Estilaf says, and he hopes he can help dispel many of these.

"The Iran Chinese know is the one they get through the media, and it is a very incomplete picture."

The accurate picture is of a country that is "secure, enthusiastic, beautiful and independent", he says.

Before he started working for Informal Talks in late 2014, he appeared on The Funniest Home Video, broadcast on International Channel Shanghai and Dragon TV's Comedy Star.

He has also played in TV dramas, as an American doctor in Hot Mom! in 2014 and as a lawyer in Silent Separation last year.

"He's the joy of people," says Mohamed Osama, an Egyptian, who is another Informal Talks presenter. "He's always making people laugh, and I know he enjoys it."

Estilaf's pet refrain, "Ai ya ma ya", (Holy cow!) which he utters with goofy facial expressions and body movements, gets plenty of laughs from his audience.

This kind of humor makes Estilaf one of the program's favorite presenters, says Wang Ziting, who works on Informal Talks.