Popular artist Jafar Namiq Kamal will celebrate his 75th birthday next year. He has been on the professional stage for more than 50 years.
A well-known actor of the National Academic Dramatic Theater. “Caspian” In an interview with the newspaper, he revealed the unique secrets of his art.
We present that interview:
– Mr. Jafar, those who are used to the theater stage and the cinema pavilion do not usually like vacations very much. And you?
– I agree with this idea… I have been going on vacation to Yessentuki for 25 years. I’m recovering a little. During that time I don’t see people I don’t want to see, I stay away from problems, my mind is calm. I have the strength to work for 11 months. But when I go there, I miss work after a week. Theater is like an epidemic. We are here because we love this job. You want to get back to your favorite place as soon as possible and you still want to “dig” with your “crazy” friends.
– When you say “crazy” friends, do you mean characters?
– No, I’m not referring to them. Before they treated us a little differently. “How is it possible that these people work for so little money and get nowhere?” – They looked at us like crazy. We run away from them and turn to our “crazy” friends to feel more comfortable together. It’s true, opinions have changed a bit now. Do you know that they don’t know what acting is? You have to find the brain of the given character in the work, from his thoughts to his heartbeat. That is, you have to introduce a new person. I always say: a victim creates a new person and an actor. The difference is that God creates man from scratch. And sometimes we privatize the pain of a 60-year-old person and make it our own. Acting is an art that shortens life. A normal actor suffers the pain of between 8 and 10 people a month. If you don’t pass, the audience sitting in the room won’t believe you. You can look at your face and yawn, or stand up and walk… It’s a bit of a dirty art. What you give to the public, they receive. If you give normal food, tomorrow someone will open the theater door for you. Acting is difficult both from an artistic point of view, and you need to know your posture and tone of voice. On the other hand, the more information about you remains hidden, the less it will give rise to rumors. That is, the more reserved you are, the more adorable you will be.
– The last time I saw your Prince in the play “Khanuma”. In this play, the role of “comic actor” is more in your face. I don’t know if this opinion of you hinders or helps your career as an actor.
– Comedy is the most difficult genre. “Khanuma” is also a comedy. I have a lot of improvisations in this piece. But I don’t like the word “utility.” The actor is called a “human engineer.” That is, you can prepare a new person. That person may be of a different character. For example, a wood carpenter makes floors, windows, and doors. An actor must also create the image of a person with problems, of an intellectual, of a madman… Nowadays, it is difficult to portray a comedy, as well as a serious drama. People have so many problems that they don’t smile when it comes to comedy. You go to a wedding and no one smiles. In a good comedy, after 10-15 minutes, they get naked. They forget that the refrigerator at home is empty, they forget about their debts, they forget everything in an hour and a half. If the audience laughs, it is a reward. That is why it is difficult to laugh and be complicit in problems.
– In “Azdrama” you have acted in performances by various directors. Is it difficult to switch between different approaches and styles?
– The training process helps us. I call it “digging.” First of all, you need to find the character of the person. First you create the person, then you review the events that happen to them. From this point of view, this art has no ceiling, it does not end while it is learned. Every time I get a role, I wonder if I can create this character. – You think. I am an actor who likes to train. Because creativity, discovery, must be in practice. It is self-activity when the time comes to act. I really like improvisations. For example, I feel in my heart that this word is necessary here. If you say half a minute late or early it won’t work, you have to use it then. Then 500 people in the room will “explode” in a good way.
– There is often talk of modern theater and the obsolescence of repertory theater. Is there any threat to traditional theater?
– This is the National Academic Drama Theater. This is not a propaganda brigade, so you can give it if something is demanded today. Of course, you have to keep up to date. For example, the land of Karabakh was liberated from occupation. It’s a sin if you don’t make a play about it. But we shouldn’t make a spectacle of saying, “Today is postal workers’ day or sailors’ day.” This theater has its own script and goes with it. “Planka” should be worthy of this theater. On some occasions, they would lower this “board” so low that it was not necessary to jump on it, they would simply walk on it. The athlete who jumps 2 m high is taken to the Olympic competitions so that he can jump even higher and become a champion. So is art. Each one has its own height. Those who can jump it should work in the theater. Otherwise, this will not be an academic theater, but an association of self-activity. Therefore, they should think about which actor and director they invite to this theater. The theater management and artistic director should always think about keeping this “table” in place.
– There are opinions that reading thick novels like Shakespeare’s “Genius” and Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is not interesting for many and that the public is not interested in watching long works. Stage productions should be shorter, more concise, more emotional…
– It depends on the quality of the performance. There is a performance that keeps the audience in the room for 3 hours. The public does not know where this time came from. But there’s also a 45-minute performance that makes audiences wonder “when will it end?” – puts his foot running. You must be able to interest the audience. There is such a thing: you have to be able to capture the audience as soon as it starts. If you can’t, performance will gradually fade. The public is also very emotional and demanding. In connection with this, it is necessary to drink the water in gulps. I have been on the professional stage for 55 years. There were times when I got sick, I had a fever and I had to go on stage because there was no double. But I revived the play in such a way that I recovered on stage. The stage is like a place of healing, it takes you out of illness.
– You have appeared in films and television series. What sector of cinema do you feel you belong to?
– When we worked at the Theater for Young Audiences, we were located in the Actors’ House. They were building a building for us. We often went on tour. Movies were also made at that time. The last film I shot was “Notes of the Dervish” by Eldar Guliyev.
– I guess you didn’t like that movie…
– I didn’t like the movie and I didn’t like the way it was played. Directors usually accept the opinions of actors. I say it in the theater too… But Mr. Eldar did not accept it. Actor Sabir Mammadov provided his voice. After all, I have my breath and my feelings there. Can anyone else do this like me? Of course not… He was not satisfied with such questions.
– You taught the specialty at the institute. Have you distanced yourself from the audience because you didn’t see the enthusiasm in the students that you once did?
– I didn’t go to teach for money. I received only 130 manats. I just wanted to teach what I know. I observed that students come at random. Previously, 300 people showed up, but the course director himself chose them because “there is a possibility that two of the 15 people will be actors.” Now, whoever has the appropriate score moves on to act. But you see they don’t match at all. When they said you are not fit to act, someone said “my father will fix me somewhere else”, someone said “my uncle will find me a job somewhere else”. I also said that I am saying goodbye to training, I come with a mat, you don’t want to study either… I sat down and wrote my application, I gathered strength…
– Have you ever thought about trying yourself as a director?
– Everyone has their own job. I have always been the director of my role. The director is responsible for the entire performance. I also tell the directors: you are responsible for the performance, but let me handle my role. First, we create this person, then you say the extras. Some say: “I played such and such a role.” This idea is incorrect: they play dominoes and backgammon. “I gave life to a text written dry on paper, I turned it into a person with a working brain and a beating heart. I took it on stage and walked for an hour and a half.” This makes more sense.
– What similarities and differences do you see between you and your brother Ilham Namiq Kamal?
– We have been next to Ilham since childhood. In the Dramatic Theater we appeared on stage in 3 or 4 performances. Inspiration is a good counterpart, sobriety. I also like sober actors. He likes to see things to the end.
– Do you ever feel tired or bored? For example, you want to throw everything away and leave it.…
– No, I enjoy this art. When there is no demand for his work, a person is considered useless. Being useless is like dying, as if you were not alive. Thank God I still have demand. I’m also trying to make the director’s face white and say, “Why did I give you this role?” don’t say I am satisfied with all my roles, most of them have been assumed. Because I’ve put my life into it, nothing works. From the day they came to this theater they realized that I was in the repertoire. Turabov invited me to Hasanaga. There was a little “pecking” here. But they couldn’t “sting” me and they saw that I was in the repertoire. You see the fruits of your labor.
– At the beginning of the conversation you talked about the importance of laughter. Do you think laughter really prolongs life? But what if you can’t laugh?
– In the comedies in which I acted, no one left the room without laughing. I have a kind, not ordinary smile. Personally, I would like to give them 5-10 manats and make them laugh for two hours. But I took on this job on my own…
