City Council member challenges likeness of bust to Jamshid Mashayekhi

May 5, 2019 - 19:1

TEHRAN – Tehran City Council member Ahmad Masjed-Jamei has complained that the bust of Jamshid Mashayekhi, which was set up near his house, bears no resemblance to the legendary actor.

Speaking during the Sunday session of the City Council, he added, “The statue looks nothing like actor Jamshid Mashayekhi. It seems that the portrait of the actor, based upon which the bust has been created, was taken during the last days of his life.”

“The bust looks nothing like the actor, and it does not deserve his name and position, and I hope the bust will be replaced soon,” he added.

He asked the Tehran Municipality to be more sensitive about national figures.

The Tehran Municipality set up the bust of the veteran actor near his house in the Velenjak neighborhood on Friday.

In addition, Mohsen Hashemi, chairman of the Tehran City Council, expressed his criticism and proposed the sculptors make use of plotters in order to prepare three-dimensional images of the celebrities so that their busts more closely resemble the individuals themselves.

Sculptor Reza Hassanzadeh, a member of the Association of Iranian Sculptors, has made the bust based on a portrait selected by the family of Mashayekhi who died on April 2 at the age of 85.

The bust of the actor was unveiled last Friday during a ceremony attended by Mashayekhi’s family, Tehran Mayor Piruz Hanachi and several art and cultural figures.

Photo: A bust of legendary actor Jamshid Mashayekhi is seen in the Velenjak neighborhood in Tehran on May 3, 2019 just a few minutes after being set up on Moqaddas Ardebili Street. (Tasnim/Masud Shahrestani)

RM/MMS/YAW