Mahvash
Iranian singer, dancer, movie actress and stage performer in the 1950s and 1960s
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mahvash (Persian: مهوش), born Masoumeh Azizi Borujerdi (Persian: معصومه عزيزى بروجردى), was an Iranian singer, dancer, film actress and stage performer.[1] She came from a poor family and was lauded as a singer (performer) of the people in the 1950s.[2]
1920
Mahvash مهوش | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Mahvash Akram, Banu Mahvash, Ma'sumeh Azizi Borujerdi, Akram Ābgūshtī |
| Born | Masumeh Azizi Borujerdi معصومه عزيزى بروجردى 1920 |
| Died | 1961 (aged 40–41) |
| Occupations | Singer, dancer, stage performer |
| Years active | 1950–1961 |
Early life and early career
Mahvash was born Masoumeh Azizi Borujerdi in Borujerd, Iran to a poor family, when Mahvash was a teenager the family came to Tehran. At an early age, Mahvash lost her mother. Later she went on to perform in Tehran's cabarets (Persian: kafe-i motrebi) and cafes in the late 1940s to early 1950s and drew large support from the working people.[3]
However, there is confusion around her biography, and different accounts of what type of performances were happening at this age and where.[4] The most common story is that she performed risqué songs in the cabarets, on the radio and in movies.[5] Another prevalent story is she began in a classical ruhowzi dance troupe as a dancer, pishparde singer, and actress;[3] and she married a violinist who secured her entertainment engagements.[3]
Career
She gained the admiration of the masses’ by articulating in her songs the problems, difficulties, and frustrations of the common people, struggles which she knew very well.[1][6] Her most famous songs involved a call and response-style singing with her male audience.[5]
She published a book in 1957 which she termed an "autobiography" which was entitled Secrets of Sexual Fulfillment (Persian: Raz-e Kamyabi-ye Jensi). This book was more of a sex manual had pictures of her in a bathing suit and was published and widely distributed despite being prosecuted for the book in June 1960.[5] It seems that Mahvash's ability to speak to the marginalized majority absolved her of her forays into prostitution and other publicly indecent behavior.
When Mahvash died in a car accident in 1961, her public funeral went was the largest of its day in Iran, with thousands of Iranians on the streets to mark her death.[2] Iranian religious authorities were reluctant to permit her burial in a Muslim cemetery because as an entertainer she was considered unclean and unchaste;[5] because of the large crowd mourning her death they relented.[5]
She is buried in the Ibn Babawayh Cemetery in Tehran.
Filmography
Acting
- 1956 – The Sun Shines (Persian: خورشید میدرخشد, romanized: Khorshid Miderakhshad), with director Sardar Saker[5]
- 1956 – Layla and Majnun (1956 film) (Persian: لیلی و مجنون, romanized: Leyli va Majnun), with director Ali-Mohammad Nourbakhsh[7]
- 1957 – Ladder of Progress (Persian: نردبان ترقی, romanized: Nardebane Taraghi)
- 1957 – The Happy Naked One (Persian: برهنه خوشحال, romanized: Berahneh Khoshhal), starring with Mohsen Mahdavi[8]
- 1959 – A Girl from Esfahan (Persian: دختری از اصفهان, romanized: Dokhtari az Esfahan), with director George Ovadiah
- 1959 – Two Brides for Three Brothers (Persian: Do Aroos Baraye se Baradar), with director Mohammad Abdi (film director)[7]
- 1961 – What's the Difference (Persian: Ki Be Kiyeh), with director Reza Karimi[7]
