A ceremony was held at Arasbaran Cultural Center to pay tribute to veteran actor Mohamad-Ali Keshavarz on Saturday (Jan 17).
Actor Asghar Hemmat, who hosted the ceremony, pointed to the richness of the plays performed by Keshavarz and his peers some five decades ago and said, “Today we miss them on the stage so much. I can never forget ‘Play Strindberg’ by the late Master Samandarian in which Keshavarz had a stunning performance,” MNA reported.
Managing Director of House of Theater Iraj Rad said that “other than possessing talent and skills in acting, Keshavarz had a great spirit as he did not just think about himself, but helped all the actors in the process.”
During his professional career, until the recent years when he has been resting at home due to age-related diseases, Keshavarz played different roles in an abundance of films, TV series, and plays. His fine performances in the movie ‘Mother’ and the series ‘The Nightingale’ will always be remembered by Iranians.
A special stamp with the picture of Keshavarz was unveiled at the ceremony.
Akbar Alemi another speaker who called Keshavarz “a perfect example of a generation that may not return,” said, “fame will not come to anyone overnight. Keshavarz gradually went up the path to glory and finally reached the peak.”
Later in the program, Master Actor Ezzatollah Entezami’s message congratulating Keshavarz was read by Hemmat.
Pianist Saman Ehteshami played pieces for the audience, including from the series ‘Godfather’ and ‘The Nightingale’.
Belongs to All
An emotional Keshavarz who went on the stage while the audience was enthusiastically applauding for him expressed his humbleness to the audience. The 84-year-old in his speech said, “I belong to you all! In whatever I have done, I was inspired by you. I was never after money and throughout my life I have tried to serve my country.”
He suggested to all the youngsters interested in acting to first of all “know their home country and love their fellow people.”
A number of cultural officials as well as cinema and theater figures such as actors Farimah Farjami, Jamshid Hashempur, Akbar Zanjanpour, Dariush Asadzadeh, etc. attended the ceremony.
