The statuette of the first Mourning Ceremony of Drama and Rituals ‘Khamseh’ was conferred on the veteran actor Mohamad-Ali Keshavarz at his house on Tuesday, (Dec. 9).
Paying a visit to the octogenarian actor, secretary of the ceremony Majid Rafiei presented the statuette to Keshavarz as the best awardee of the ceremony, MNA reported.
Keshavarz, who started his professional acting career from playing in theaters in 1960, referred to the status of theater in the country today and said: “People are not used to seeing plays.” He said the Tehran Municipality (TM) could play an effective role in influencing the culture and pave the way for more people to attend plays as it is in charge of various cultural centers in the city. “The cultural centers can encourage children from a young age to attend theaters and even write and act,” he added.
“There are a variety of plays staged in Iran. If religious issues can be conveyed in the plays, they can definitely help our culture improve,” the veteran theater actor stated. He also urged support to theater personalities by the state organizations “as there is indeed no tangible earnings for those involved in this authentic art.”
Performances
The ceremony deputy Amir-Hossein Shafiei, director of TM’s Art and Cultural Organization Shahram Karami, and the veteran director/writer/actor Esmaeel Khalaj and a number of artists also visited Keshavarz who has been ailing for some time.
On the reasons for holding the ceremony, Rafiei had earlier said, “Since there are usually few art activities during the lunar months of Muharram and Safar, we decided to organize the program in Tehran so that many people can see different performances held in various cultural centers and halls.”
Born in 1930 in Isfahan, Mohamad-Ali Keshavarz graduated from the Art School in acting. During his 50 years career in various media, he has appeared in a good number of television series, cinematic films as well as staged plays. His performances in plays ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘Antigona’, and ‘Play Strindberg’, movies like ‘Mother’, ‘Del Shodegan’ (The Love-Stricken), and ‘Kamal’ol-Molk’ and series such as ‘Hezar Dastan’ (Nightingale), ‘Pedar Salar’ (Patriairch), and ‘Kohneh Savar’ will always be remembered.
One interesting point in his lifetime activities is the movie ‘Caravans’. Made in 1978, it was an Iranian-American joint production. The movie was shot in Iran and starred Anthony Quinn, Michael Sarrazin, Christopher Lee as well as Keshavarz.
Recalling the memory of the film production, Keshavarz had earlier said, “Quinn loved Iran and wanted me to show him historical sites as he enjoyed them a lot. He believed that Iran was a beautiful land.” He also noted that he was invited by Quinn to act in a play in the US; however he rejected the offer.
