Exclusive interview: Behnoush Bakhtiyari

In an exclusive interview with ifilm, Iranian actress Behnoush Bakhtiyari talks about her acting career.

Below is a rough translation of selected parts from the interview conducted by ifilm in Persian:

ifilm: You have made some important changes in your professional life and you have changed your acting style; how much of this change was planned and how much of it happened by chance?

Bakhtiyari: Yes, these days there is a new Behnoush Bakhtiari; a person who has willingly planned to pursue a new course and now has to pay for it.

ifilm: Having to pay for it is a strange thing to say, why is that so?

Bakhtiyari: I am saying this because I have suffered a lot over the past years for I had a sacred purpose. I turned down all my offers for television series in the past two or three years except for the series ‘Neighborhood of Flower and Nightingale’ (Mahale-ye Gol va Bolbol) for which I had a strong reason. This drama is made for children and I love children. I welcomed the offer to play in this drama and I could not care less what others said about my decision; children are more important to me than anything people might say and I enjoyed being part of the project. I wanted to change the course of my career and filmmakers respected my wish and offered me different roles. You know, this kind of change is very difficult, very difficult… refusing to perform in the television series means that you will not be seen and many other problems. But I accepted these difficulties wholeheartedly and instead performed in a number of short scenes in movies because my aim was to change. I have paid the price of this change to prove to all that I am not only a comedian, although being a comedian is a tough job especially in our country where people have a very sharp sense of humor. I want everyone to know that a good actor can also be good at short roles. So, I decided to work and earn less but present a good and reputable performance.

ifilm: Like the movie ‘Isolation’? Many think even though you were only present in a few short scenes, you delivered an outstanding performance.

Bakhtiyari: Exactly. I was also surprised when I first watched the movie and I realized that it was made better than I had anticipated. When I read the script, I know that my role would be short but I wholeheartedly accepted to act in the film. Working with Morteza Ali Abbas Mirzaee [film’s director and writer] was easy for me and he had given me permission to deliver the role as I wanted and only pointed out my mistakes sometimes. This experience was so good that I am willing to act in all of this young director’s movies.

ifilm: Although ‘Isolation’ was not popular among the judges at the 35th Fajr Film Festival, it was one of the most influential works present at the festival and all the actors like Jamshid Hashempour, Siamak Safari, Andisheh Fouladvand and you had short roles in it but these short roles demonstrated the skills of the actors.

Bakhtiyari: I believe this is true. I was fascinated by the performance of Jamshid Hashempour with his amazing experience who was only in the movie for a few minutes but greatly affected the project. When I see this, I become more determined in pursuing the path that I have embarked on and I become certain that I have made the right choice.

ifilm: It seems that after you made this decision, filmmakers started to offer you special roles.

Bakhtiyari: Great! The offers that I received this year were special and serious. I must also note that the filmmakers who have so far invited me to act in their projects are yet to offer me the lead role of a melodrama. But I believe that one day it will happen and I will have the lead role in an important movie and will win the Crystal Simorgh; I have no doubts! I will continue my way slowly and patiently to prove myself.

ifilm: But this will be a little difficult for a well-known person like you.

Bakhtiyari: Yes, very difficult. Many of my friends ask me “Why are taking it so hard on yourself when you are so famous Behnoush?” Yes, I am famous but I am not a real actress yet. I want to become a complete actress and I will accept all the difficulties along the way. I will never become proud or delusional; I need to prove myself in acting.

ifilm: Apart from acting, you have been making documentaries for a while. In your new path, do you also see yourself as a director?

Bakhtiyari: I do not like directing and I do not have any talents for it but since I have many social concerns and making documentaries addresses my concerns, doing so is appealing to me. I do not want to be a director but I would like to illustrate problems and I want to do this in the most natural way possible. Making documentaries requires patience; you cannot take the camera with you and film just anything and call it a documentary!  

ifilm: We have heard that you are interested to work as a producer and maybe one day you will produce a movie for young filmmakers and those who are making their first movie, do you have sufficient financial support?

Bakhtiyari: This is my biggest wish. I would love to support these talented people. But about finances… investor trust a well-known person like me so that we may help young filmmakers but I have not officially started it despite having held a number of talks and discussions. I must admit, however, that I am a bit afraid of myself because I cannot hold on to money and spend it very quickly. I am afraid I might lose the investment (laughing) but ignore what I just said and trust me.

Interview Conducted By: Ghazal Nahani

To read more about Behnoush Bakhtiyari click here.

HY/HY