LIFE IS A BIG STAGE

In July, he turned 63. Ramiz Azizbayli is an actor, director and people's artist of Azerbaijan. He says that he feels the full prime of life despite his recent illness. He wants to catch up: "I have many plans," the people's artist says.

- Happy birthday, Ramiz muallim. How does Ramiz Azizbayli feel after stepping into the 64th summer of his life?

- I feel fine. Only a few years ago, I was seriously ill. But thanks to the doctors, I am standing on my own two feet again after a successful operation. The state did not leave me unattended either. My health condition was under constant control. Now my health is excellent. I live and create.

- In that case, what's new and good in your career?

- Of course, due to illness I didn't do anything for a while, that is there was a sort of emptiness in my career. But as soon as I recovered, I was invited to the film "Do Not Die Without Revenge", written and directed by Oqtay Mirqasimov. In this movie, I was given the main role - the role of Salman. The shooting ended early this year. Then, in April, I finally published my book "My Drafts". It has everything I wrote in many years - poems, qazals, short stories and essays. I'm also a member of the Azerbaijani Writers' Union. This year I was also invited to the main role in a television play filmed by state television. All this is my acting work. Also, I am a professor at the University of Culture and Arts, and from this year, I will lead the department of pop music and musical theatre direction.

- So much to do. Are you not tired?

- I started my career in 1957 in the children's department of state television. While in school, I worked for radio and dubbed children's roles in the dubbing department of the state cinema studio. In parallel, I played sports and participated in competitions. Since then, I've been used to labour. I felt that the more I worked, the more creative energy I generated. In short, I'm already accustomed to it. I'm happy that some 25 years ago, I was mentioned by the great personalities and actors of Azerbaijan. They said that Ramiz Azizbayli had the most productive career not only among his peers, but also among the older generation. This stimulated me. Of course, I'm a bit older now, I'm 63 years old, and someone might consider it the beginning of old age. But I myself do not feel old. My heart is full of love, zest for life and creativity and respect for people. Therefore, I still see myself in many new creative endeavours and social processes.

- Then why don't you shoot "Wedding Ring-2"?

- As you know, this movie was filmed in 1992. After being released, it was awarded the national prize "Golden Lamp" in the Best Director category. And if today, almost 20 years after, the movie is still on the screen, this means that it is really much loved. It is well known where the film ended. The viewer was actually worried that at the end of the picture, the characters parted. There were many requests to disclose the fate of the characters in the film. I also thought about it and even prepared a script. Unfortunately, the events in the country at that time (early 1990s - the war with Armenia, internal political instability - editor) did not allow me to secure funding for the film. Of course, in such circumstances there was no point in waiting for money from the state, but it was not proper to ask the Qara Qaya studio, which funded the first film, for money again. But no-one cancelled my plans, of course, and today "Wedding Ring-2" is very vital. As for the script, some characters have aged and some have died.

- Is Ramiz Azizbayli happy?

- Happiness is a relative term. A person cannot be eternally happy. Life is full of hardships and difficulties. No-one can argue that they are absolutely happy. Such people are a rarity. But I consider Ramiz Azizbeyli to be one of them. I don't get tired of repeating that I'm happy because I love people. Praise be to God for giving me this quality.

- As director, do you know people who, in your opinion, do not cope with their roles in life?

- I don't want to name names, but there are a lot of such people. Most people cannot find happiness precisely because they do not cope with their role in life. When one lives improperly, they cannot organize their own life. People should be able to accept their share of life. That's what makes them happy. In the words of the Greek philosopher Seneca, "fate leads the willing and drags along the unwilling".

- And finally, could you forgive in life the lies that you showed in the movie "Yalan"?

- In general, people cheat each other from beginning to end in this film. Here, even the father hides his son's heroic death from his mother. This lie can be forgiven for only one reason. In the words of the Prophet Muhammad, a lie is forgivable in three cases, including when a lie is necessary not to break a mother's heart. That is, all other lies are an open betrayal. One lie can ruin the lives of several or even many people.