THE MOST TRAGIC ROLE

They say that "all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." If that's so, then she received one of its most tragic roles. Unlike real life, on the stage and screen she played comic roles and made audiences laugh. She was so talented that even the most demanding critics of film and theatre never doubted her in the least…

A marvellous voice

Nuriya Ahmadova was born on December 26, 1950, in Baku. Her father was a military officer, and her mother was a housewife. She was just like her father. She had the same wonderful voice that he had. She wanted to become a singer: she grew up with the dream of going out onto the stage and performing before an audience.

After finishing high school, she applied to the Azerbaijani State Institute of the Arts. But she was not to become a student that year. However, soon afterward, thanks to her pleasant, melodious voice, the doors to the world of the arts opened before her. It was 1968. Her dacha neighbour, Tofiq Bakixanov, told her: "You have a good voice. Come on, we'll hire you at the Theatre of Musical Comedy." She was given a small part as an audition. She acted it out and won them over. She was hired. 

It was as if a miracle had happened. Going to work every day at the theatre, seeing recognized masters there filled the young woman with a tremendous sense of joy. Finally she went up on stage as an actress. At the Theatre of Musical Comedy she acted in stagings of Mammadali Goes to a Resort, Whose Wedding Is It?, and other plays.

In 1970 she applied to the faculty of acting at the Institute of the Arts. She took a course taught by Adila Isqandarova. At home no one yet knew about it. Later her mother found out. Her family did not want her to become an actress, and it was her mother who opposed her more than anyone else. Many relatives disowned her. But no-one could force the young woman to turn away from the path she had chosen.

Nuriya Ahmadova split her time between work and study. Her home was in a village near Baku. So as to not be late to performances or classes, she rented an apartment in the city. In 1974 she graduated from the institute. She started a family. She had met her husband, Xanlar Ibadov, three years earlier at the theatre. Back then she had not yet begun to think about love or marriage. She dreamed of only one thing - getting a university degree. At the theatre many were leery of this young woman with her boyish enthusiasm. But there were quite a few who were brave enough to confess their love for her - Nuriya Ahmadova chose Xanlar Ibadov. Perhaps it was because they were alike in many ways. Both grew up in villages near Baku. For both the Theatre of Musical Comedy was their first job. When Xanlar Ibadov came to the theatre after finishing the Asaf Zeynalli Music School, Nuriya Ah-madova already worked there.

Xanlar Ibadov was a vocalist. After two months he left the theatre for the Azerbaijani State Philharmonic. But he did not forget Nuriya Ahmadova, whom he had met and first loved at the theatre. In December 1970 fate brought them back together. It was a cold, snowy, dark night. The streets were covered in ice. Nuriya Ahmadova was on her way home after a performance. She ran into Xanlar Ibadov on the way. The young man walked her back to her home. After that the two began to date. Two years later Xanlar Ibadov sent for the matchmakers. They got engaged. In 1975 they had a wedding. In 1976 their daughter Ilaha was born, and a year later, their son Ali.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

Though there were many hardships, they were happy. Both belonged to the world of the arts. Xanlar Ibadov worked at the philharmonic and often went on tour. Nuriya Ahmadova spent several years at home, caring for their small children. Then happiness suddenly abandoned them. Her husband went through two abdominal surgeries. He did not go on stage for seven years - doctors would not let him. Only Nuriya Ahmadova worked. They did not have their own apartment, and lived in the home of Xanlar Ibadov's step-mother.

After the Theatre of Musical Comedy Nuriya Ahmadova worked for Tadris Teatri for a while. She performed in entertainment broadcasts and in sketches for television. In 1982 she performed in scenes of the satirical short film Mozalan. That same year she was hired at the film studio Azerbaijanfilm's theatre. The theatre's director was Leyla Badirbayli. There she acted in the plays Bloody Wedding and The Hawk's Nest. She began to dub parts and appear in films. She started to be recognized. Directors invited her to the filming of new movies. When director Sahmar Alakbarov invited her to his new film Endless Night, she was surprised. Until then she had mostly played the roles of shy women. And in that film she was to play a promiscuous Armenian woman named Roza who also leads an Azerbaijani woman astray. She thought it over for a long time. She reread the script several times. The film depicted the hardships brought about by the war, and the prevalence of loose women like Roza in those conditions. And the actress decided to take the role in the movie. 

The film provoked heated debate and much discussion. As Nuriya Ahmadova told the story: "They were hard times. To upset the people, Moscow purposely showed the film often. In Azerbaijan we were criticized for Endless Night, and sometimes even insulted. Sahmar was very worried about us. Once he called me and told me to stay home. A crowd of refugees had gathered in front of the film studio. But I went to work all the same. On my way home that afternoon, a person came up to me and slapped me. My entire face was bloody."

Even though that film caused her much turmoil, Nuriya Ahmadova said that she did not regret a single role she had performed. All of the roles she played on stage and screen were entirely realistic and true-to-life. That is why audiences showed such interest in them. 

Nuriya Ahmadova loved movies very much. This love helped her to overcome the hardships of the art. One of Azerbaijani film's most talented actresses played many character roles. These were in the films "Ham ziyarat, ham ticarat", Wedding Ring, Endless Night, Cottage Season, Bayin ogurlanmasi, I Want to Get Married, The Frenchman, All for the Best, A Man's Word, and a number of others.

A bitter fate

In the arts she conquered mountains. But there was no end to her personal problems. Things were tense at the home of Xanlar's step-mother. The courts were involved. A famous, highly-praised actress could not buy her own apartment… She could not even imagine that later she would miss those days filled with commonplace worries and problems. For the time being she could not find satisfaction in her children. One day her daughter Ilaha told her that she was in love. Her boyfriend was still a student, as was Ilaha herself. At first her parents were against the marriage. But the young man was persistent. They had to give their blessing to the young lovers.

In 1996 Nuriya's grandson Faiq was born. For the first forty days after the child's birth Ilaha had to stay with her mother. When the little boy was twenty days old, Ilaha's husband killed her. This happened before Nuriya Ahmadova's very eyes. Her daughter died in her arms.

In court they were told that the young man was mentally ill. His mother had treated him. After her death, he was without supervision, as his father did not continue the treatment. His psychological condition continued to worsen, and he was jealous of the attention Ilaha was paying his own child. In order to stop him from committing another crime, he was arrested.

Nuriya Ahmadova had to face the most horrible sorrow on earth. She had lost her daughter. As if that were not enough, people began to talk about the deceased. Gossip-mongers began to say that Ilaha's husband had a reason to kill her. 

After her daughter's death the actress did not speak for three days. She was shocked. She was not herself. Later she began to speak with her daughter's spirit. She tried to explain to those around her that it was not a hallucination. Allegedly when Nuriya fell unconscious, her daughter lifted her from the floor and placed her on a couch. Everyone doubted her stories. She lost her voice. One day she remembered her grandson. She took her from the father's relatives. She straightened out he paperwork. But even the child could not console her. Even though she considered it her duty to live for the boy's sake, she could not find the strength to do so. In those difficult days she had to hold on to something, occupy herself with something.

To her rescue came the art to which she had dedicated many years of her life. It was just at that time that director Vaqif Mustafayev was filming Between the Earth and the Sky. The director invited her to perform in the film, lose herself in her art, to take her mind off things. Otherwise she would be unable to live. And he was right. Later Nuriya Ahmadova herself said that if she had not acted then, it's possible that even the baby could not have given her a desire to live back.

Beside her son

After her daughter's death she refused to live in an argument-ridden home that drained her emotionally with its lawsuits - in the home where she was witness to the greatest tragedy of her life - her daughter's murder. She rented an apartment and moved into it. In 2007 she was awarded the honorary title of people's artist. Beginning in 2004 she was given a presidential stipend. She continued to live in a rented apartment. She said: "All the people's artists have been given apartments, only I still have to rent." Her only son had already started his own family. Nuriya Ahmadova lived with her grandson Faiq. Her husband lived with relatives. There were rumours that they had divorced.

After an illness lasting many years, her 37-year-old son died of cancer in 2014. Nuriya Ahmadova felt guilty for her children's early deaths. She had, after all, chosen her profession without her mother's blessing. Until her dying day her mother had not forgiven her for becoming an actress. Nuriya said: "It's all the result of my mother's curse. I haven't received anything good from this profession. There were good royalty checks, but they went as easily as they came. It was so difficult for me to raise my children, but I was never to be happy because of them."

It was as if success had forsaken her forever. On April 4, 2014, she fell as she was exiting a bus. She was taken to the trauma ward of City Clinical Hospital No. 3 in serious condition. She was left bed-ridden. She was tired out by everyday problems. She lived either at the apartments of friends, or rented an apartment. The people's artist dreamed of having at least a one-room apartment she could call her own. And that she could die in. But this dream was not to come true. On October 10, 2015, the 65-year-old actress died of a heart attack. Mourners followed her from the apartment she rented… She was buried beside her son in Mardakan. Even though she said that she had "had enough of life", she nevertheless tried to find the strength to live. She was tied to life by her little grandson. Passing on and leaving Faiq to fate was another heavy burden for Nuriya Ahmadova. 

It was her fate to encounter life in all its many facets. Both the treachery of those closest to her, and the care of friends who remained faithful to the very end. Nor was she betrayed by her beloved art, to which she gave herself entirely, devoting the majority of her life to it. It was her art that consoled her, that shared her grief. And it is film that will remember Nuriya Ahmadova after her death.