"YEARS WILL GO BY AND..."

There is a role in the career of every actor which totally changes his life. We have all heard many Hollywood stories about the celebrities who achieved stardom overnight. It turns out that there is one of those lucky one here in Azerbaijan too. A role in the movie 'Nasimi' not only earned Rasim Balayev popularity, but also totally changed his life. He became one of the most popular Azerbaijani movie actors. He worked everywhere! The actor with impressive looks was invited to studios in Germany, Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, Russia, Lithuania, Ossetia, Chechnya and other countries. People's Artist of Azerbaijan Rasim Balayev, first secretary of the Union of Cinematographers, discusses for readers of R+ the future of Azerbaijani cinema, his roles in movies, his granddaughters and many other topics.

- How can we revive Azerbaijani cinema, in your view?

- In the Soviet period, there was a state programme and cinema developed according to that programme. Every year, cinematographers from the Soviet republics were assigned different tasks which were always carried out, albeit with varying quality. Shortly before the dissolution of the USSR, the Baku studio produced about six feature films a year, plus three to five movies for television.  Not every republic was able to secure large grants of this type to support their national cinema. After independence, our cinema had to start totally from scratch; we had to forget about filming for several years. The once-strong chain was broken: the old generation of talented directors had retired and the new generation of cinematographers was taking its first steps. Among the younger generation, there were many talented and promising professionals who quickly realized what was going on and went to work for TV. They began producing music videos and different TV shows. I think that they are unlikely to come back to cinema. Making music videos is a profitable and easy job. Today, our cinema is going through a difficult period. We have a shortage of young, talented scriptwriters, directors and actors. The film distribution service was destroyed. Until the distribution system is rebuilt, there will be neither revenue nor accessibility of movies for the audience. True, these days everyone can watch any new movie at home. But a TV screen is a poor replacement for the cinema experience. The person with a remote control in front of his TV set and the person who goes to the cinema with his family and friends are two different kinds of viewers, with different feelings.  But I hope and believe that things will get back to normal in due course. Years will pass and we will have new talents, and cinema will go through a new era of revival. I think that it is necessary to study the professions of film direction or camerawork.  Of course, it is better to have God-given talent but, besides that, you should also know all the subtleties of the process of filming and editing.  That is why my main advice to youth is:  study, accumulate experience and in time you will be successful.

- Rasim Ahmadovich, have there been moments in your life when you regretted your choice of a movie acting career?

- I confess there were such moments. There was a period when there was no work, movies were not being made. That was when I feared that I would never act again. It seemed that no one needed me.  Of course there were offers to take part in different pictures but, alas, I accepted some of the offers solely because I sorely missed being in front of the camera.

- Your career in the movies began with a small part in Vytautas Zalakevicius's film 'The Sweet Word Freedom'.  What did the 21-year-old beginner actor feel when he worked in a movie with Regimantas Adomaitis, Irina Miroshnichenko, Juozas Bud-raitis, Rodion Nakhapetov?

- That film was a true school of cinematography for me. It was produced by the Mosfilm studio with participation by the Lithuanian studio. It was the story of a confrontation between the military regime of a Latin American country and a group of patriots trying to free some imprisoned senators.  The director decided to film some of the scenes in Xizi. I remember asking Zalakevicius why he had recruited Azerbaijani actors for the movie. He answered that, compared with Georgians and Armenians, Azerbaijanis more closely resembled Latin Americans.  I watched the actors perform for hours. I admired the ease with which they declaimed lengthy monologues, their effortless behaviour before the camera. I observed everything that happened on location, and I studied...  Few people know that I was not very lucky at the beginning of my career. I was auditioned many times for many different pictures, but I was always turned down.  I auditioned for the role of Calal in '7 Ogul Istaram' and for Cahandar bey's son in 'Crazy Kur'.

The funny thing was that I even failed screen tests. Directors did not want to see a future star in me.  I remember that the studio which employed me warned me that if I did not act in a movie for a year, they would fire me. I was very worried. Just then I was selected for the role of Oqtay, Muslim Magomayev's friend, in 'Three Carnations'.  However, the movie was never released:  just before the scheduled start of shooting, the project was 'frozen'.  I was in a quandary and even started to think that cinema was not for me.  But then everything changed.  Cameraman Rasim Ismayilov, who worked on 'Three Carnations' was about to start filming a new movie about the Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nasimi. He suggested that director Hasan Seyidbayli audition me for the leading role.  Later, Seyidbayli told me that he and the film's scriptwriter, Isa Husayinov, had seen me on TV I reciting poetry, and they had both liked me very much.  Incidentally, from the very outset they had not wanted a famous actor for the lead role. I read the script of "Nasimi" in 1972, when I was in hospital.  Then there were long rehearsals, incidentally, in this same office, which is now mine.

- When Hasan Seyidbayli offered the role of Nasimi to you, you were only 24. Was it not difficult for a young actor to play a great Azerbaijani poet?

- It was very difficult. It was a huge responsibility. But in the two months of rehearsals with the director I gained confidence in my skills. I knew that the movie would either bury my budding career in the film industry or earn me recognition and luck. My film debut turned out to be successful. So, Nasimi launched my cinema career. The film has been watched by different generations of people for almost 40 years, it is on TV screens all the time.

- After the release of "Nasimi" you became a celebrity overnight.  You probably received a huge number of letters...

- (Smiles). Indeed, there were many letters! Initially I tried to reply to them, but I did not have enough time. A few years ago, a funny thing happened to me. I was invited as a jury member to a Russian film festival in Arkhangelsk. On the way from the hotel to the cinema, I was stopped by a woman of my age who asked me if I was an actor. I replied with a joke that I was an ex-actor. She told me that she recognized my eyes. I was Nasimi in the movie. She said that she and her girlfriends had sent me dozens of letters and wanted to meet me. I was very pleased that in Arkhangelsk, which is so far away from my city, people know and remember me.

- And how come that young boy Rasim Balayev, from Agsu, decided to become an actor? Back then the profession was not held in high esteem by the older generation, to say the least.

- There were no actors in our family. I was a good student at school. My parents thought that after secondary school, I would join the history department or become a lawyer. But in the 9th grade I surprisingly took to acting. I started to attend plays and loved watching new movies at our local cinema. And before the graduation party, I told my parents that I wanted to become an actor. My parents disapproved, but did not try to change my mind. Admission tests to the University of Arts back then were held before those to other universities. My parents decided that I would not be granted admission and would send my application to some other university. But as luck would have it, I joined the university. In those days, all the applicants used to recite pompous poems about the Communist Party and Communist Youth League. I recited Mikayil Musfiq's lyrical poem.  I remember that when I recited the first lines - "Xoшladыбыm bir gecя yerlяr, gюylяr iшыqlы, аy bir sяrxoш gюz kimi, ulduzlar yaraшыqlы," the audience sighed with relief. Later the teachers told me that my poem stood out for its freshness and warmth. There were three marks for professional tests: in acting skills, speech and rhythm and music. I received three A's, and this had a good effect on the results of other exams. Incidentally, I do not fully approve of the modern testing system for admission exams.  Even when people apply for theatrical schools these days, they have to pass test exams. As a result, people who pass in maths, history and the exact sciences test well, but who have no acting talent are admitted. That is why there should be a special approach to assessing the knowledge and skills of people who want to join acting schools or singing or choreography departments. The testing of knowledge is good, but I think that theatre-related schools should also have special admission tests.

- Did your children follow in your footsteps?

- No, they did not. I have two sons and both chose different occupations. I have two granddaughters.  The elder, Sevil, is 10 and the younger, Ulviya, is only two months old.

- What will famous granddad Rasim Balayev say if Sevil decides to become an actress?

- I will object, because I know how difficult the life of an actor can be. It is more difficult for an actress to tackle the problems or to combine family life with career. I often hear how actresses' husbands complain that their wives are busy all the time and are never at home in the evenings. Our profession is not as easy as it looks to others. What goes on behind the scenes is very different from what you see on the screen. In addition, there is no stability in an actor's work. While you have roles in movies or plays, you have an income to live on. I remember that when I was filming for a Turkish movie, an older actor invited me to dinner at a restaurant. During the conversation, he told me that it was his restaurant; he had opened it to be certain of his future. My Turkish colleague was no longer financially dependent on his acting and could choose his scripts and roles.  In our country, very few actors have managed thus far to start their own business with which to earn money.