Hasanağa Turabov

Hasanağa Turabov — Biography

Hasanagha Turabov was one of the best-known faces of Soviet-era Azerbaijani theatre and cinema, valued for a lyrical, psychological acting style. He spent almost his entire career at the Azerbaijan Drama Theatre and later served as its director and artistic director. On screen, Geray Bey in Yedi Oğul İstiyorum and Afshin in Babek are counted among his most memorable characters.

He studied acting at the Azerbaijan Art Institute, graduated in 1960 and joined the theatre company the same year. On stage he played Hamlet and Khayyam above all, along with Vahid, Azer and Lionel, and worked with artists such as Aghasadig Garaybeyli and Ismail Dagistanli. His film career settled in the 1970s with Son Geçit, Çobanların İzinde, Kalp... Kalp... and Dante'nin Yıldönümü, followed in 1979 by Babek and Sorgu. Later he appeared in Atlari yaharlayin, Damadın Kaçırılması, Yaramaz, Gənc Qadının Kişisi and Tahmine. He moved behind the camera with Kanlı Toprak, and his last films were Ailə and Ne gozaldir bu dünya….

He became an Honored Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1971 and a People's Artist in 1982. He won the State Prize in 1972 for the role of Kamran on stage and again in 1986 for directing Kanlı Toprak. He received the Shohrat Order in 1998 and a presidential scholarship in 2002. As a professor at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, he helped train young actors. He died in Baku in 2003.