MIKHAYLO LEFT US

"Nodar Sasiqoglu came into my office and said: "Let me depart this life, slamming the door! I want to play King Lear!" At the beginning, I said no because this work is the most difficult play by William Shakespeare for production and performance, and the role of Lear requires maximum effort and full creative efficiency. Therefore, not every well-known actor, even the most eminent and experienced master, is able to play it. Nodar Sasiqoglu heard my objection and left, slamming the door. Despite his advanced age, he was still a man of unbridled temperament... And I decided to produce this performance," People's Artist of Azerbaijan Aleksandr Sharovskiy says of the outstanding Azerbaijani actor, legendary Nodar Sasiqoglu, who recently departed this life.

This production was the best project of the theatre season of the Russian Drama Theatre in 2005 and was on stage up until last year. Nodar Sasiqoglu last appeared on stage at the beginning of 2012 - he was 85 years old, and he was the oldest leading man - King Lear - in world theatre arts. Not every actor could play this role at such an age, a role in which you have not only to embody emotions in a very lengthy performance, but also to convey an unusual hero's complex range of feelings!

Nodar Sasiqoglu said: "It is an actor's ability and right to be heard by the Creator and, in gratitude to God and fate for such talent, to experience the epiphany that leads to great revelations in life and the rarest of professional victories on stage..." On the morning of 12 April, at the age of 86, the people's artist of Azerbaijan and Russia and holder of the Order of Glory, Nodar Sasiqoglu, departed this life.

In the movies

In 1950, after graduating from Shchukin Theatre School in Moscow, Sasiqoglu played in Vakhtangov Theatre, where he worked for a year. Later there was the famous Taganka Theatre.

And in 1953, Sasiqoglu appeared in the movies for the first time. It was Sergey Yutkevich's picture "The Great Warrior Skanderbeg", where he played the founder of the Turkish Empire, Mehmet Bey Fateh. Sasiqoglu then starred in the film "Andries" and was invited to work at the Odessa film studio.

He had many roles, but gained true popular fame for the role of guerrilla Mikhaylo in the movie "On Distant Shores", filmed on the basis of a popular novel by Hasan Seyidbayli and Imran Qasimov. The film was shot in 1958. The prototype of the legendary character was the Hero of the Soviet Union Mehdi Huseynzada, who fought in a guerrilla unit in Italy during the Second World War.

Sasiqoglu himself recalled how he became an actor in this film: "At a rehearsal in Moscow, I was noticed by the second director of the film 'On Distant Shores', Rasid Atamalibayov, and he suggested that I read the script about the war hero Mehdi Huseynzada. But there was one condition - it was necessary to leave the theatre temporarily for the sake of the movie. I agreed, especially as my relatives lived in Baku and my mother visited him. And Baku attracted me a lot! There was a risk. After all, the film auditioned dozens of actors, including the famous Mohsun Sanani."

"The movie was filmed in Yalta and in Baku, where night shootouts were mostly filmed, and residents even called the police out of fear," the actor said. "The film 'On Distant Shores' was the second picture about a scout in the Soviet Union. The first one was the "The Scout's Feat" featuring Pavel Kadochnikov. But our picture surpassed this movie by popularity. Its premiere was held in Baku at the Nizami cinema, and when the film was screened at the Vatan cinema, the queue stretched as far as Azneft. We took the picture to a festival in Tashkent and took first place. After the film, people almost crushed us and even carried me on their hands to the car into which the guards shoved me. They carried me on their hands and my suit turned into rags. A year later, the picture was awarded a special diploma of the All-Union Film Festival, just like the music for the film created by Qara Qarayev. People came up to me and said: 'We bow and kiss the land that nurtured a hero like Mehdi Huseynzada.' The role of the hero scout Mehdi Huseynzada, nicknamed Mikhaylo, became my calling card, though I have played many other important roles in the theatre and cinema."

Thus, a native of Georgia who studied in Moscow, Sasiqoglu, ended up in Baku and became one of the most favourite actors. For a start, he was the only regular actor of Azerbaijanfilm. He starred in films such as "Her Big Heart", "Mateo Falcone", "Telephone Operator", "A True Friend", "Our Street", "Morning", "Layla and Majnun", etc.

In the theatre

After changing several theatres, Sasiqoglu began working in the Samad Vurgun Russian Drama Theatre in 2003. By that time he already played a lot of well-known roles in the theatres of Baku and Moscow: Don Juan in "Little Tragedies" by Pushkin, Krzysztof Maksimovic in "The Rush Hour" by Stawinski, Sophocles in "Antigone" by Jacques Anouilh, Gilbert in "Mary Tudor" by Hugo. However, he often said that he did not have the last big theatrical role, and this role was found.

Such was the role of King Lear in Shakespeare's play. When he first played it, Sasiqoglu was already 78. The actor himself recalled this role: "This is the summit. Now I can say I played all the roles I dreamt about. I want nothing more."

"The performance of Nodar Sasiqoglu is really brilliant. It seems to me that his character coincided with the inner world of the character he played. I am very pleased," director Aleksandr Sharovskiy said after the premiere.

Natalya Sharovskaya, who played the role of Goneril, the eldest daughter of King Lear, recollected: "I am proud that I was on stage with him. He was a religious man, kind and generous, always shared his talent and helped young actors. Playing with him on stage was a great honour and pleasure, and a lot could be learned. Nodar Sasiqoglu lived a good and glorious life and made a tremendous contribution to the development of national art."

People's Artist Mabud Mahar-ramov, who played the Jester, said of the actor:

"Since childhood, we have admired Mikhaylo in the movie 'On Distant Shores'. It was a character you wanted to emulate and be a brave and fearless scout like him. And performing with him on stage was a great gift of fate for me. We were bound not only by creative, but also friendly relations. We were both born in March, and when we celebrated my 50th and his 80th birthday, Nodar Sasiqoglu said: "I want to be at your 80th birthday." Now I recollect the last phrase of King Lear: "I am hurt. I am very hurt today...," the actor said at the funeral.