Mustafa Mardanov

Mustafa Ashum oglu Mardanov (, ; March 10, 1894 – December 28, 1968) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani stage and film actor. People's Artiste of the Azerbaijan SSR (1943). Biography Mustafa Mardanov was born on March 10, 1894, in the city of Marand in East Azerbaijan, Persia (now Iran). He was the brother of the film director Samad Mardanov. In 1916 he graduated from the Tiflis Men's Gymnasium. From 1922 to 1924 he studied at the Moscow State Institute of Theater Arts. Stage activity began in 1910 in the Tiflis Muslim Drama Circle. His first roles in the theater were the roles of Haji Ganbar ("From the rain and under the downpour" by Najaf-bek Vezirov), Karamali ("Haji Kara" Mirza Fatali Akhundova), Adham ("Nadir Shah" Nariman Narimanov). From 1921 to 1922 Mardanov was the director of the Tiflis Azerbaijani Theater. Since 1924 he has been performing on the stage of the Azerbaijan State Drama Theater. Here he created a series of images of Azerbaijani, Russian and Western drama. Mustafa Mardanov was noted for his subtle humor and comedy. A bright folk comedy was combined in the art of Mardanov with subtle humor and irony. Mustafa Mardanov was surrounded by the great actors of Azerbaijan, such as Abbas Mirza Sharifzadeh, Sidgi Ruhulla, Agasadig Garaybayli, Alasgar Alakbarov, from whom he learned a lot. His best roles are Atakishi, Imamverdi (Sevil, 1905 Jafar Jabbarly), Khlestakov ("Inspector General", Nikolai Gogol), Luka ("At the bottom" Maxim Gorky), Shmaga ("Without fault" Alexander Ostrovsky), Polonius ("Hamlet", William Shakespeare), Shvandiya (Love for spring, Konstantin Trenev), Sganarelle (" Don Juan", Molière), etc.