Iranian theater and cinema community mourns for Hamid Samandarian

TEHRAN,July 15(MNA) -- Stars, family, friends and thousands of fans mourned for Hamid Samandarian at a ceremony in the courtyard of the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on Saturday, two days after the death of the stage director and teacher, whose works and efforts in education made him one of the biggest names of his era in Iran. Streets near the forum were gridlocked from the early hours of the day by people who were heading to the place on the day of Samandarian’s funeral. A number of veteran actors who once were his students delivered short speeches during the ceremony. “He was the diamond of the Iranian theater… He was unparalleled in good behavior and morals, and always had a smile on his face,” 86-year-old actor Ezzatollah Entezami said. “It is difficult to watch a candle burning while its wick would last until morning,” Ebrahim Haqiqi, graphic designer and a close friend of Samandarian, stated. “Samandarian stood brilliantly for years and illuminated his surroundings, and many butterflies flew warmly around him. Today, they one by one are among us,” he added. “I say hello to Hamid Samandarian, who is peering from among you… We know that he will never be duplicated. It is very important that someone has friends from several generations who respect him. What a wonderful mystery there is surrounding him. He will never die,” 61-year-old actor Reza Kianian said. Kianian, Samandarian’s widow Homa Rusta, along with a number his students including Payam Dehkordi were scheduled to stage Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “Play Strindberg” this coming fall in order to keep his spirits up in his fight against cancer. Samandarian had previously directed the play in 1972 and 1999. “He is alive. He has multiplied in the spirit of each of us,” Dehkordi said. Rusta thanked everybody who attended the ceremony and said, “During the last days of his life, Hamid made a will and advised me to like everybody, albeit with all their evils.” “He said, ‘Many felt hostile towards me, but when they came closer to me they were no longer my enemy. I saw that they loved me,’” she added. Afterwards, Samandarian’s body was transferred to Tehran’s Behesht Zahra Cemetery and laid to rest in the Artists Section of the cemetery. Samandarian died of liver cancer at the age of 81. His wish to stage Bertolt Brecht’s “The Life of Galileo” as his artistic will and testament remained unrealized. A council set up by his colleagues to coordinate memorial services for Samandarian has asked directors of the plays on stage at theaters across Iran to read “The Life of Galileo” for a week in the beginning of their plays in commemoration of Samandarian. “We want you to tell the people that master Samandarian was not able to stage the play,” council spokesman Mohammad Yaqubi said in press release on Saturday.