TV presenter gives a different take on the world

Estilaf, with his family, moved to Shanghai 2006 and began studying Chinese at East China Normal University. He was a contestant in the first Chinese Bridge language competition for foreign students in 2008, and he finished as a top ten.

In 2010 he enrolled in the Shanghai Theatre Academy in a master's degree course in broadcasting and presenting, something he has now completed. He is now studing for a doctorate at the academy.

Estilaf says his father, a merchant, had expected that his son would follow him into that field of work.

Estilaf's TV career gained strong momentum when he appeared in Comedy Star, a series that scouts for and promotes amateur comedians. His depiction of how Indians and Koreans and people in Shanghai and Guangdong province react when their children fail exams was particularly well received, and one of the judges, Song Dandan, a Chinese comedian, was in stitches throughout.

Estilaf says the working lives of Chinese people are highly stressful, and with his humor he aims to brings light relief.

"After they knock off and get home and turn on the TV there's a need to relax, and I'm proud I can help in that regard."

Although millions of Chinese appreciate his humor and his proficiency in Chinese, he is not short of detractors.

"I get more than 30,000 likes and more than 10,000 comments when I post a picture on Instagram," he says.

For every highly critical comment he gets 99 positive ones, he says, and he simply ignores the negative ones.

"It's enough for me to see myself improving day by day."

Estilaf now has enough TV work to keep him busy and is happy his fans in China appreciate learning about Iran from him and that Iranians are learning about China through the show online.