TV presenter gives a different take on the world

By Yan Dongjie (USA Today) Updated: 2016-01-22 14:24

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

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.