“I had known Ceyhun Mirzayev since he was 15 years old. He was an extraordinary person. Now our readers might think that Elmira is praising Ceyhun. No! Even back then, beautiful words were spoken about Ceyhun. I was with my husband, director Rufat Shabanov, in Yalama. Tofiq Tagiyev was shooting two films. One was 'Real Friend.' Ceyhun was also there. He was a very agile child. He was 6 years younger than me. Back then, he used to flirt with all the girls, joking around. I had not yet married Rufat. Ceyhun told me, ‘Don’t marry that old man yet, let me grow up a bit, and I will marry you’ (laughs). Rufat was 18 years older than me. I have even taught him at university. Even today, when I think that talented people like Ceyhun leave life prematurely, I feel very bad. This year is his jubilee year. If he were alive, we would be celebrating his 80th birthday.”
These words were said by People’s Artist Elmira Shabanova in an interview with Medianews.az.
She stated that Ceyhun Mirzayev’s film "The Cry" was created with great difficulty:
“One day, Ceyhun called and said, ‘Elmira, the film "The Cry" is being made, can you play my mother?’ The role was almost an episodic one. I said, ‘Ceyhun, I usually take big roles, but I will play your mother.’ I appeared in the film "The Cry." Something still stays in my memory. There is a scene where Ceyhun is hit, and the image of his mother comes before his eyes. I looked into his eyes and felt that Ceyhun would not live long. His short life seemed to have settled in his gaze. Indeed, after the film, Ceyhun passed away. Ceyhun brought the film "The Cry" to life with great difficulty. I am a witness to that. It was the 1990s, events had happened, and one could say films were not being made. Sometimes there was no equipment, sometimes no car. Ceyhun was very upset. We waited for something to arrive so we could start shooting. Cinema was already ‘dead.’ Maybe because of this stress and tension, Ceyhun passed away early. In general, Ceyhun suffered a lot in life. He had neither a mother nor a father. He grew up an orphan, but despite that, he burned like a candle for his art. He was very patriotic, loved his people and country very much, traveled to frontline regions, and communicated with soldiers. May God have mercy on him abundantly,” the artist said.
Ali Asgar,
Medianews.az
