CHARMING AND CHEERFUL

The acting career of Mirza Babayev, his roles in films and pop numbers differed with their amazing zest for life. Even when the outstanding singer was already over 90, his way of singing was remarkably life-affirming and upbeat. It seemed that he intended to be with us for a long time. In fact, it did happen, because now that the great singer and actor turns 100, he is still with us in his songs and movies.

Talented in everything 

Few people know today that Mirza Babayev left his mark in painting, architecture and design. In 1939, he graduated from the Architecture Department of the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (now the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy). Mirza Babayev's grandson Emin said in conversation with R+ that some of his paintings are still kept in the Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature. Among them is "Nizami in the madrasa" and "Nizami in the desert". In addition, Mirza Babayev is the author of the interior design of the museum. "With the drafts of my grandfather, several buildings were built in Baku, Ganca and Agdam," his grandson said. "He also designed buildings in the city centre, including the Vatan cinema. It is worth noting that, despite his comprehensive talent, Mirza Babayev stood out for his amazing humility and kindness.

The first performance of Mirza Babayev was held in 1939. Then he was a student. Babayev started singing again when he returned from the front. It was in the jazz orchestra of Tofiq Quliyev, which had just been created. Then, when the struggle against jazz began in the Soviet Union, the orchestra was closed. His voice came back only in 1956.

In 1948, Mirza Babayev finally chose his profession and entered the conservatoire, where he studied in the class of the great Bulbul and graduated from it with a degree in vocal in 1953. In general, the fate of Mirza Babayev was largely linked with Tofiq Quliyev. It was Quliyev who defined the unique style of the singer. He often wrote songs especially for him. "Mirza's singing inspired me so much that sometimes, after talking with the director, I included a song for Mirza in the script," Tofiq Quliyev said. That's how the song was written for the role that made Mirza Babayev famous. It was the movie "Dervish blows up Paris". "Tofiq Quliyev and Mirza Babayev were similar in many ways. In behaviour and the manner of dressing, and in many respects, they went beyond the scope that the Soviets had set for them. While singers were able to stand in two or three positions, dressed modestly, and did not gesticulate, only Mirza Babayev went against these rules," the singer's grandson told us.

Other composers - Cahangir Cahangirov, Oqtay Kazimi and Emin Sabitoglu - also wrote for Mirza Babayev. He was the first and original performer of the songs "Kapanak", "Limanlar", "Ay Qiz" and "Pancaramya qondu cicak". Mirza Babayev, not only a man of many talents, but also a universal performer of songs, was often compared with Yves Montand, Gilbert Becaud and Frank Sinatra. Indeed, there are many songs that Babayev sang in the language of the original - French, Italian and English.

"Of course, my grandfather gained people's love as a comic actor and with his playful songs, but all the songs in all spheres, which he performed, became unique," the singer's grandson says.

Mirza Babayev had so many talents that many of his fans do not even know about all of them. Only four years ago, after the death of the performer, was his first solo album with songs in French and Italian finally released. "In the 1960's, my grandfather performed in many countries around the world, and his repertoire included songs in different languages," says Emin Babayev. "We can say that the music and the words of almost all of these songs are in our home. But the songs themselves are stored in the golden fund of Azerbaijani state television. As the family of the actor, we appealed to the leadership of state television and these songs will soon be presented to us. These compositions of Mirza Babayev will be restored and released as an album."

"Negative" characters of Babayev 

The talent of Mirza Babayev had amazing properties. If you recall his films, their plots and logic of events suggest that Babayev's characters are negative characters, crooks and thugs, but if you remember Mirza in these roles, it is hard to believe it.

He played his first role in the movie "Onu bagislamaq olar mi?". The most famous ones are roles and songs from the movies "Do not be afraid, I am with you", "The day went", "Invincible Kur", "Telephone Operator", "The Shadows Creep", "Dervish blows up Paris", "Can I forgive him", "They stole the groom", "The Magic Voice of Gelsomino", "The lion left home" and many others.

In general, he played the roles of noblemen very well. So it was in the films "Qaraca Qiz" and "Do not be afraid, I am with you", where he played negative roles once again. It was Mirza Babayev who dubbed the voice of Rustam bay in the movie "O olmasin, bu olsun!" and Soltan bay in the film "Arsin mal alan".

Forever Young 

Mirza Babayev maintained his reputation until the end of his life. Despite his advanced age, his performance exuded remarkable energy and vitality. When he was over 80, he tried to be dynamic on stage. At 85, Mirza Babayev gave a solo concert at the Heydar Aliyev Palace. And this concert had a full house. Babayev continued his tours until the end of his life. In 2001, he participated in the Days of Azerbaijani Culture in Russia in the Olympic concert hall. And "Man na qadar qoca olsam da ..." ("No matter how old I am ...") looked very convincing and relevant in his performance. He was already 87 at the time! And over the following two years, Mirza Babayev released 3 music albums. Mirza Babayev left us at the age of 89 - on 14 January 2003.