Nosrat Karimi, a renowned Iranian cinema artist, has passed away.
Karimi made films that were controversial for their satirical portrayal of traditional and religious beliefs. His prominent role in the series Daei Jan Napoleon is still remembered. Karimi was not allowed to work after the revolution.
Nosratollah Karimi, a veteran Iranian cinema and theater artist, died on Monday, December 3, at the age of 95 due to old age at his home in Tehran.
Nosrat Karimi was born in Tehran in 1924. He began his artistic career as a young man by joining Abdolhossein Noushin's group. In the 1940s, Noushin tried to lay a solid foundation for modern Iranian theater by forming a theater team with talented young people and performing plays in the Ferdowsi and Saadi theaters. The coup d'état of 1953 ended these efforts.
Nosrat Karimi, who worked with the Noushin Group as a make-up artist and actor and has recorded her devotion to the "master" in a book commemorating him, went to Europe in 1952 to study cinema. After several years of training and gaining experience in Italy and (former) Czechoslovakia, she returned to Iran in 1964.
Karimi has worked in various fields and disciplines, including writing, acting, design, makeup for cinema and theater, producing animated films, and puppet shows. After the revolution, when he was barred from artistic activity due to his “un-Islamic” background and behavior, he turned to teaching and engaged in “miscellaneous” work such as sculpture and flower growing.
In addition to completing a specialized course in puppet films, Karimi has also worked on several television series. Some of the films in which Nosratollah Karimi appeared as a writer, director, and actor include: Darskechi, Khanekharab, Mehemman Na'vedeh, and Mahalal. His performance in the famous series "Uncle Napoleon" is also remembered.
A multifaceted artist
Two films in particular stand out in Karimi's career: Darshekechi and Mahallel.
Dareshkechi is very successful in creating the atmosphere of the south of the city, without resorting to artificial and stereotypical elements such as murder and stabbing. According to experts, this film tells the story of an unconventional love story in the simplest cinematic language. It creates a familiar and familiar atmosphere and establishes real relationships among a handful of lively and lively characters. In this film, a middle-aged man and woman have been in love for a long time but have fallen apart. Now that they have lost their wives, there is no longer any obstacle to their love and they want to get married. But “masculine” jealousy and “honor” prejudices prevent their union. It is only after many hardships and bitter encounters that this obstacle is removed.
The feature film "Mohallal," which is based on one of Sadegh Hedayat's short stories, clearly demonstrates the disturbing nature of traditional beliefs, and especially their incompatibility with today's world. The film's screening sparked a strong reaction from religious circles, which led to the film being banned and brought trouble to its creator after the revolution.
After producing the two films mentioned above, Nosrat Karimi moved away from his favorite cinema. It can be said that cultural barriers and political pressures prevented him from continuing his path. After that, he sometimes participated as a director and mostly as an actor in films that were more focused on the box office and preferred baseless comedy to sarcasm and cutting humor.
The artist went through a difficult period after the revolution and lived in fear for several years. Karimi was imprisoned for a while and then banned from artistic work.
In the years after the revolution, Karimi expanded her artistic creativity into other fields such as bodybuilding and makeup. She also taught at art schools, sharing her artistic experience and knowledge with young people, and in her classes, she always emphasized the importance of cinema's social approach.
The artist's funeral is scheduled to be held on Saturday, December 6th.
Source: DW
