Reem's real-life inspiration

The film Naval Enna Jewel has received appreciation from some quarters for its theme and storyline. Foreign actress Reem Kadem, who plays the title role of Naval, reveals a little-known aspect of the film, which the makers had initially said was inspired from true events.

Reyhaneh Jabbari

Reem divulges, “My character of Naval is based on a Reyhaneh Jabbari — an Iranian woman who was sentenced to death. The reason we did not share this news earlier is because we did not want any untoward incidents to happen once this fact was known.” Amnesty International tried to save Reyhaneh’s life with a signature campaign to stop her execution but was not successful and she was eventually hanged to death.