Wikipedia

Irene Zazians

Irene Zazians (Armenian: Իրեն Զազյանց; Persian: ایرن زازیانس; August 20, 1927 – July 28, 2012), known mononymously as Irene, was an Iranian actress of cinema and television. She worked with famous Iranian new wave[1] directors both before and after the 1979 revolution, such as Samuel Khachikian, Amir Naderi, Nosrat Karimi, Masoud Kimiyayi, and Alireza Davood Nejad. Her two films after the revolution, The Red Line directed by Kimiyayi and The Reward by Davood Nejad, were banned.[2]

Irene Zazians
Իրեն Զազյանց
Irene Zazians portrait, from Etela'at-e Haftegi magazine, 1950s
Born(1927-08-20)August 20, 1927
Babolsar, Iran
DiedJuly 28, 2012(2012-07-28) (aged 84)
Tehran, Iran
Resting placeBurastan Cemetery
Other namesIrene Asemi
OccupationActress
Years active1948–1982
Spouses
  • Mohammad Assemi
  • Shahrokh Rafi

She also appeared in four TV series.[3] She portrayed Mahde Olya (Nasereddin Shah's mother) in Soltan-e Sahebgheran directed by Ali Hatami in 1976. Her role in Hezar Dastan, another series directed by Ali Hatami, was cut out.[4][5] After the Iranian revolution she was banned from taking part in any artistic activities. She travelled to Germany, where she re-trained as a beautician.[6] She returned to Iran in 1986, during the harshest time of the Iran-Iraq war. Her last performance in cinema was in Shirin in 2008, a film by Abbas Kiarostami. She died of lung cancer in 2012 in Tehran.[7]

Early life and career

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Irene was born in an Armenian family who had immigrated to Babolsar, Iran, after surviving the Armenian genocide. Her father was Alexander Zazians and her mother's name was Varia. Her father was from Western Armenia, while her mother was from the east. Irene was their fourth child, but all of the first three children died of causes such as disease.[8] She went to "Shahdokht" school in Babolsar.[9] She started acting in the Ferdowsi theater when she was 19. In 1951 she joined the Noushin group in Sa'di theater, performing in works including Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. She married Mohammad Asemi, also an actor in the Noushin theater, when she was 16.[10][11]

"In that time (1950s in Iran) Italian films were on top and people were so passionate about Silvana Mangano and Sophia Loren. But after screening "The Messenger from Heaven" Italian films were put behind for a while. "

Irene, on The Messenger from Heaven [12]

Film career

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Irene portrayed Mahd-e Olya, the mother of Nasereddin Shah in the TV series, Soltan-e Sahebgheran directed by Ali Hatami in 1974

After some years in theater she joined the cinema industry in 1958, acting in films such as The Man who Suffered directed by Mohammad Ali Jafari and Awaited by Ataollah Zahed.[13] Her next film was The Messenger from Heaven directed by Samuel Khachikian, also an Iranian Armenian. At the time Iranian women could not act in sexy clothes, but because Irene was of an Armenian family, she did not have that limitation and wore a two-piece swim suit [14] in The Messenger from Heaven. The film was on screen for four days, but then was renditioned five times[15] for its taboo scenes.[16] In 1958 Siamak Yasemi invited her to perform in a movie named The Spring of Life. This was Mohammad Ali Fardin's first film. In the early 1970s she worked with many Iranian new wave directors such as Amir Naderi (Goodbye Friend), Masoud Kimiyai (Baluch), Khosrow Haritash (Speeding Naked till High Noon) and Shapoor Gharib (The Rooster).[10]

Mohallel

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Among her most acclaimed and controversial roles was the portrayal of a traditional Iranian Muslim woman in Mohallel while she was Armenian. The Islamic term mohallel (Nikah halala) refers to a man marrying a divorced woman so that she can marry her ex-husband after they have already divorced three times. Couples cannot remarry for a fourth time until the ex-wife marries another man, to ensure that divorce is not taken lightly.

Nosrat Karimi directed the film Mohallel in 1972. After all Iranian stars rejected the role, he turned to Irene, an Armenian. She spent time in a traditional Iranian household to observe their lifestyle. However, some Shia mojtaheds such as Morteza Motahhari wrote bitter criticisms of the film in Kayhan. Other critics defended Irene's performance, and Zazians was nominated for a Sepas award that year. The film only remained on screens for three days and was renditioned.[17]

Television career

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She played in four TV series. One was Soltan-e Sahebgheran, a historical TV series about Nasereddin shah Qajar and Amirkabir and their assassination. Zazians portrayed Mahd-e Olya, Shah's mother in the series.[18] Another TV series was Abunasr's Throne (Persian: تخت ِ ابونصر), based on a story of Sadegh Hedayat and a screenplay by Ahmad Shamlu.[19] Her latter two series were I Love You, I Love You, directed by Morteza Alavi, and Hezar Dastan, also by Ali Hatami, which was screened after the Iranian revolution with her role being totally cut out.

Personal life

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Irene grave at Khavaran, Tehran

Zazians married twice; first when she was age 16, to Mohammad Asemi, an actor in the Noushin group. Asemi was also a poet and a writer and was a member of Tudeh Party of Iran. Their marriage was not stable and they got divorced. From this marriage, Irene was sometimes called Irene Asemi, her ex-husband's family name.[20] After that, she married director and producer, Shahrokh Rafi which also ended in divorce.[21]

After the Iranian Revolution Irene was banned from performing as an actress, so she travelled to Germany to live with her sister.[13] She only stayed there for two years and returned to Iran in 1986. During her time in Germany, she had retrained in cosmetology and, after coming back to Iran, she also worked as a beautician.

Death

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She suffered lung cancer in the last decade of her life.[17] She had three surgeries and was working less, as recommended by her doctors. She died on July 28, 2012, in Tehran. She is buried in the Armenian cemetery in Khavaran road in southeast Tehran.[22]

Filmography

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Irene Zazians' filmography
Year Title Persian Title Role Director Notes
1958 The Man Who Suffered مردی که رنج می‌برد Mohammad Ali Jafari [13]
1958 Awaited چشم‌به‌راه Ataollah Zahed [13]
1959 The Messenger from Heaven قاصد بهشت Samuel Khachikian Renditioned
1960 The Spring of Life چشمه‌ آب حیات Siamak Yasemi
1961 The Black Pearl مروارید سیاه Mehdi Reisfirooz
1962 The Shadow of the Fate سایه‌ سرنوشت Esmaeel Kooshan
1963 Dread دلهره Roshanak Niknezhad Samuel Khachikian
1963 The Shore is not far ساحل دور نیست Simin Sardar Saker
1969 Noah's Arc کشتی نوح Leyla Khosrow Parvizi
1971 The Son of Zayandeh Roud پسر زاینده‌رود Hosein Madani
1972 Subah-o-Shyam همای سعادت Tapi Chanakya Indo-Iranian film
1972 Amoo Yadegar عمو یادگار Parviz Kardan
1972 Khodahafez Rafigh خداحافظ رفیق Amir Naderi
1972 Nikah Halala محلل Shamsi Nosrat Karimi Renditioned
1972 The Triple Bed تخت‌خواب سه‌نفره Nosrat Karimi
1973 The Doctor حکیم‌باشی Parviz Noori
1973 Balouch بلوچ Farangis Masoud Kimiyai
1974 The Rooster خروس The Woman Shapoor Gharib
1974 The Translator Akbar اکبر دیلماج Akbar's wife Khosrow Parvizi
1974 Chasing to Hell تعقیب تا جهنم Robert Ekhart
1975 Red Hair موسرخه Nayyer Abdollah Ghiabi
1976 Dotted Daddy بابا خال‌دار Abdol's mother Masoud Asadollahi
1977 Anxiety اضطراب Shahla Samuel Khachikian
1977 The Last Supper شام آخر Esmat Shahyar Ghanbari
1977 Speeding Naked till High Noon برهنه تا ظهر با سرعت Khosrow Haritash
1980 The Friend's Stabbing زخم خنجر رفیق Azizollah Bahadori
1980 Soltan-e Sahebgharan سلطان صاحبقران Mahd-e Olya Ali Hatami television series[13]
1984 The Reward جایزه Alireza Davood Nejad banned in Iran
1984 The Red Line خط قرمز Lale's mother Masoud Kimiai banned in Iran
2008 Shirin شیرین Herself Abbas Kiarostami

References

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  1. ^ "ایرن زازیانس". فصلنامه ره‌آورد. 100: 251. 2012.
  2. ^ "ایرن، بازیگر ایرانی، درگذشت" [Iranian actress Irene has died]. BBC Persian website. 28 July 2012.
  3. ^ "ایرن زازیانس، بازیگر سینما و تئاتر، درگذشت". Radio Zamaneh website. 28 July 2012.
  4. ^ "یک سال از درگذشت ایرن زازیانس گذشت". ghadimiha.blogspot.com.
  5. ^ "ایرن، بازیگر قدیمی سینمای ایران، درگذشت". ویکی‌خبر فارسی.
  6. ^ "گفتگو با ایرن زازیانس: هیچ‌وقت در زندگی‌ام از الگویی پیروی نكردم". ghadimiha.blogfa.com.
  7. ^ "بازیگر قدیمی سینمای ایران درگذشت". Khabaronline website. 28 July 2012.
  8. ^ "ایرن زازیانس متولد ۲۰ مرداد ۱۳۰۶". www.rcir.ir. Archived from the original on 2013-11-28. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  9. ^ Abdollahi, Sofia. "از لاله زار تا هزاردستان داستان زندگی نخستین ستاره زن سینمای ایران". Pendar website. Archived from the original on 2013-08-18. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  10. ^ a b "ایرن بازیگر ایرانی درگذشت" [Irene, actress, has died] (in Persian). BBC News. August 7, 2012 [July 28, 2012].
  11. ^ "محمد عاصمی، شاعر و نویسنده ایرانی درگذشت" [Mohammad Asemi, an Iranian poet and author, has died] (in Persian). BBC News. December 22, 2009 [December 13, 2009].
  12. ^ صحرایی, شوکا. "ایرن، نخستین ستاره ایران". Jadidonline.com.
  13. ^ a b c d e "يادی از يک ستاره قديمی" [Remembrance of an old star]. BBC Persian. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  14. ^ "گفتگو با ایرن زازیانس: هیچوقت در زندگی ‌ام از الگویی پیروی نكردم".
  15. ^ Mehrabi, Massoud. The History of Iranian Cinema (1900 - 1979). p. 87.
  16. ^ "ایرن بازیگر مشهور سینمای ایران درگذشت". دویچه وله فارسی.
  17. ^ a b "زندگینامۀ "ایرن زازیانس"هنرمند سينما". Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  18. ^ "Soltan-e Sahebgharan". IMDb.
  19. ^ "تخت ابونصر".
  20. ^ Morteza, Negahi. "محمد عاصمی هم رفت…".
  21. ^ "شاهرخ رفيع". Iranian Movie Database.
  22. ^ "ایرن، بازیگر قدیمی سینمای ایران درگذشت".
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