TEHRAN -- Friends and fans of the admired actor and poet Hossein Panahi, mostly remembered for his idiosyncratic method of acting, commemorated his death anniversary at the Niavaran Cultural Center.

The commemoration ceremony was held on the sidelines of the cultural week of Kohkiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad, the province in which Panahi’s birthplace is located. The event is currently underway at the center.
Hossein Panahi died of heart attack in his home in Tehran on August 5, 2004 and was buried in his hometown of Dej-Kuh village in Kohkiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad province.
At the ceremony, stage artist and singer Rasul Najafian appeared on stage as Panahi’s friend and talked to the packed house about his talent as a painter, a poet and a gifted actor.
He pointed to his cooperation with Panahi and Davud Mirbaqeri in the teleplay “Two Ducks in the Mist” which was written by Hossein Panahi.
The play is actually Hossein’s biography, which tells of the story of a poor man who came from his village to a town and lived in a corner of a cemetery and how his gradual acquaintance with Lorca and Marquez turned him into an intellectual, Najafian said.
The teleplay and the stage version of “Two Ducks in the Mist” were both widely acclaimed by critics and theatergoers.
“Unfortunately many officials do not recognize talents in their time. Hossein Panahi was not recognized in his time either. He was a global poet who had his own style,” he added.
He asked the audiences to buy his poetry books. “No problem if the publisher benefits from it. Go and buy the books and live his poems word by word.”
Panahi wrote several plays including “Two Ducks in the Mist”, “Two Big Ears of the Wall”, “Something Like Life”, “One Flower and Spring”, “Bibiyun”, and “The Prophets Without Books.” He also wrote poetry that he wanted published posthumously.
He was also the brother of controversial director Ja’far Panahi.
Panahi’s acting credits include “In the Wind’s Eye”, “Hey Joe”, “Legacy”, “The Actor”, “The Migrants”, “The Day of the Event”, as well as the TV series “Health District”, “Ra’na”, “Once Upon a Time”, “Yahya and Golabetun”, “The Kidnappers of Grandma”, and “Friendship Agency”.
Photo: A thespian performs a monologue during a commemoration ceremony for Iranian actor and poet Hossein Panahi at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center on July 25, 2011. (Fars/Mohammad Hassanzadeh)