an adaptation / massod vadiee music / rashid behbudov imagery / sergei parajanov sound mixage/soho sound people produced / arden zahedi bogucka A dokumuzik projekt (2012) Rashi Behbudov Rashid Behbudov (Azerbaijani: Rəşid Məcid oğlu Behbudov, رشید بهبوداوف; an Azerbaijani singer and actor. He sang in Azerbaijani, Russian, Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Armenian, Urdu and Bengali among other languages. Rashid Behbudov was born in Tiflis Tbilisi, Georgia in 1915 (died in 1989). His father, Majid Behbudov was a singer as well. In 1938-1944, Rashid worked at Yerevan State Philharmonia and Opera House, and in 1945, upon the invitation of Tofig Guliyev, Rashid Behbudov moved to Baku. In a short time, Behbudov became also prominent Azerbaijani pop singer. His combination of vocal masterpieces ranged from classical performances to lyrical songs. Behbudov's rare vocal talent gave him opportunity to travel beyond the "Iron Curtain" of the Soviet Union, and as a singer he toured with concert performances in several countries of the world, including Iran, Turkey, China, India, Japan, Argentina, and many other countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In 1966, he created the State Song Theater, which still carries his name, and became its soloist and artistic manager. Rashid was almost 30 years old when he was chosen to perform the lead role of Asgar. It was the third time a film had been made The Cloth Peddler ("Arshin Mal Alan") – used In „Sari Galin Cafe”, based on the music comedy by Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885–1948). Asgar was the rich merchant, who disguised himself as a cloth peddler just to get the chance to enter the courtyards of homes so that he could catch a glimpse of all the pretty young women and choose one for his bride. This version of the movie came at the end of World War II and was so successful that it not only made Rashid famous, but it won Hajibeyov the coveted Stalin Prize.The film turned out to be so successful that it was shown in more than 25 countries. Rashid often performed in the Near East. In Iran, he was accompanied by the pianist Chingiz Sadikhov and tar player Ahsan Dadashov. They were so popular that their two-week tour in Iran stretched into two months. It was Rashid's dream to create a place in Azerbaijan specifically designated as a Song Theater. Prior to the Soviet occupation, Baku already had an Opera and Ballet Theater, a Philharmonic Hall, a Comedy Theater and various other buildings dedicated to various genres of music, but nowhere was there a home for the genre of popular music. Behbudov was already an established musician when he decided to undertake this project. He envisioned each song as a mini-spectacle with its own heroes, theme and development and he went in search of a worthy setting where the dramatic aspects of these popular songs could be dramatically presented. Creating the Song Theater became a pet project for him. He was very proud of it and spent a great deal of energy, anxiety and time on the conversion of a pre-Soviet Jewish synagogue into the Song Theater. Simultaneously, he worked on creating a professional music group that would be associated with the theater. But in the spring of 1989, all these projects soon came to an end. The theater was preparing a new program for the Noruz holidays (the Spring Solstice on March 21 celebrating the New Year). Rashid looked fine despite his age of 73. His voice was still so strong and beautiful. But suddenly, during one of the practices, he took ill. On 14 December 2010, FLASHMOB Azerbaijan organized a flashmob to memorize the honor of Rashid Behbudov and to celebrate the 95th jubilee anniversary of the famous representative of Azerbaijani music and culture