In an interview, Merila Zarei reviewed the first decade of his career in cinema and shared fascinating memories of works that many people have fond memories of.
According to Artmag.ir, quoted by Mehr News Agency, the film actress Merila Zarei, who has been in the acting field for 30 years, said in a detailed interview with the program “Ro B Ro” after a 12-year silence: I was a student of food science and technology engineering, and one of our extracurricular classes was acting with Master Ezzatollah Entezami. Learning from a great actor was very valuable to me. The first session was 50 people, and gradually our number decreased to 15. Master Entezami told us that you are the future doctors and engineers of this country, why do you want to enter the cinema? Continue your studies, because the world of cinema is different from those of you who chose these fields. In the last session, the master told us that I have heard that Mohsen Makhmelbaf is taking tests. He knows his job and can recognize well who can become an actor.
She added: “I just wanted to explore the world of acting and I didn’t want to stay in this world. If you let me go right now, I would go back to school and enter medicine.” From the beginning, I had no desire for fame and I believed that life was so hard for famous people. For example, Master Akbar Zanjanpour’s daughter was in my class. When he came to register his daughter, everyone was interested in what car he got out of.
I told Makhmalbaf what to cry for?
Merila Zarei emphasized: Being in front of Mahmoud Kalari‘s camera in “Salam Cinema” made me interested in cinema, otherwise before that I was just a prying eye. I went to Ferdows Garden for the test and I was met by a bunch of people who had all come for this job. I told the guard that Mr. Entezami sent me. I remember the moment-by-moment feeling of the day I entered Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s castle. There, everyone was competing to be seen more and I was just watching. Makhmalbaf came to me and said, “Cry, let me see.” I said, “What should I cry for?” He said, “This is cinema. I am the director. If I tell you to cry, you have to cry.” I tried my best. The next test was Mr. Makhmalbaf shooting and our reaction was that since I was an athlete and did martial arts, I thought I had to show myself here and that I was the one jumping in the air in the film “Salam Cinema.”
I didn’t like “Hello Cinema”
She continued: When I went to Azadi Cinema to watch the movie, I realized that cinema is cruel. I didn’t like the movie and it was directed at me. Of course, now I proudly say that I’m glad I was in that movie.
Zarei, stating that I think everyone is interested in acting and cinema, and that it’s attractive for everyone to not be yourself at some point, said about the series “Detective Alavi”: I signed my first professional contract with Mr. Hassan Hedayat. Mr. Sadegh Azin asked me how much I should write? It was very strange to me and I didn’t know what to say. I said that the dignity of acting is much higher than me setting a number for it, no matter what you say. Mr. Azin also laughed and said a number that I thought was very good and I was surprised that the employees were getting paid so much, why were they giving me this money for three days.
I owe my professional life to women
The actress of “Shiar 143”, pointing out that women have been very effective in shaping her professional personality, said: “I watched Ms. Shahla Riahi acting behind the scenes of this series and it was very interesting to me. I realized how difficult acting is, a set of mastery over expression, body, concentration, sufficient intelligence, sufficient ear, and the right voice. I realized that acting is something that can be wrestled with and is much more complicated than acting.
No one agreed with my acting in Dabirestan Khazra (Green High School) until Ms. Navidi came in.
She explained about her subsequent films and series: While I was acting in “Green High School” I went for the film “Patak”. The producer of this series was Mr. Pourmansouri, who had a smooth tongue and a charismatic personality. From that long and full-bodied series, the monologue I performed had an impact on my fate. During the audition, he asked me to perform the same monologue, and everyone’s reaction to my performance was negative. Well, I didn’t know where these emotional sentences came from and why they were being said. Ms. Mahin Navidi, the makeup designer for the series, said that Ezzatollah Entezami wouldn’t say a dialogue until he got dressed and put on makeup. Someone came in through the door and asked him to act. Mr. Khajoui, who is such a lovely man, agreed, and I went to get makeup. Ms. Navidi was saying, “Why are your eyelashes so long? This girl is oppressed, these eyelashes don’t suit her.” Anyway, I went and became one of the high school kids.
Azita Hajian is the second woman I am indebted to
She considered Azita Hajian another influential woman in his career and said: She studied this field and is an ethical person and I learned a lot from her. She is the second woman I am indebted to. She knelt down to perform that monologue scene and gave me explanations that made me say that scene in one take and everyone applauded me.
My salary for dubbing “Green High School” was more than my acting in the entire series
Zarei continued: Through this series, I was introduced to voice acting and dubbing, and the third influential woman in my life was Zohreh Shokoufandeh. He concluded that we should audition the actors themselves, everyone was capable of playing their role themselves. I also went to Channel 2 and the security guard told me that you are not a poster. He ran into me and I was also going down the Alvand Street slope when Ms. Shokoufandeh saw me on the way and called me. A beautiful creature with a lovely voice who took me to Channel 2 and I auditioned for the same monologue. I remember Ms. Shokofandeh hugging me with a smile and thinking I was a new talent in dubbing. Afsaneh Mahian, Mahshad Mokhbari, and I were chosen to voice our own roles, and it’s interesting to say that my salary for 15 days of dubbing was more than my salary for acting in the entire series.
Rahmanian had an important role in shaping my view of acting
Zarei said about the series “Fresh Air” by Mohammad Rahmanian: This work gave me the opportunity to work with a good director who had a special style, he had an important role in shaping my view of acting.
In response to Vahid Saeedi who said that many people have contributed to your career, she said: The first time I received the Simorgh, I thanked all the directors I had worked with. None of the events in my professional life necessarily have anything to do with me, first and last is God, and the means and means are the people I have worked with.
I was a fan of 2 Atashe Radesh and Attaran
The actor explained about working with Nasrollah Radesh after “Saat Khosh”: I was a fan of this series and a fan of 2 Atashe Radesh and Reza Attaran, and I had to play with them. It was a strange and difficult experience. Playing with Mr. Reza Babak was very special. Rahmanian also insisted that the dialogues be said quickly and without delay, and this also contributed to my increasing mastery of my work.
They recognized my voice more than my face
She attributed his fame to the telethon “Rented Houses” and said: “My role was short, but I was seen a lot. My voice was more famous than my image, and wherever I went, they said your voice is familiar.” I was not one of the actors who was seen in “Green High School”, for example, Anahita Hemmati was an actress who was seen in a negative role.
I told Fakhimzadeh I’m afraid of you
Zarei explained about his experience performing on the evening TV show: “I arrived late one day and they said we’ve recorded the show but we’ve put together an interview for you. I said I don’t know how to do interviews. Suddenly, Mr. Mehdi Fakhimzadeh entered the studio and told me we’ve prepared the questions for you, don’t worry. When the recording started, I said cut it, I’m afraid of Mr. Fakhimzadeh, I can’t do the interview. Mr. Fakhimzadeh said no, don’t be afraid of me, and the interview took shape.
Mehdi Fakhimzadeh added a character to “Velayat Eshgh” when he saw me
She continued: “When the interview was over, Mr. Hossein Fardroo, the show’s producer, asked Fakhimzadeh, who was making the series “Velayat Eshgh” at the time, “Do you have a role that Ms. Zarei could play?” He said no, but I wish I had. It hadn’t been three days since I got a call from the series and I went to the cinema town. When I met with Fakhimzadeh, he had decided to play the role of a young and active girl. He told me that he had in mind playing the role of Fazl bin Sahl’s daughter, who is played by Mr. Akbar Zanjanpour and his wife, the late Ms. Bita Farhi, and that the story would be written.
The story of the condition that the director made as a joke and the actress took seriously
The actress recalled: They told me that I had to be proficient in horse riding, and I had intensive training and worked 10 to 12 hours a day, and I had mastered horse jumping to within one meter. They even looked at me so strictly that we experienced riding without a saddle. Many people thought I had a double. At that time, I was on a foreign trip and Mr. Fakhimzadeh said that I would let you go on the trip if you could pick something up from the ground while galloping. I practiced with Mr. Niktab and told Fakhimzadeh that I was ready to fulfill that condition. He, who had completely forgotten, said that I was joking. He got curious and came and did it for him and said, “Go on any trip you want.”
Merila Zarei’s tears in memory of Ladan Tabatabaei
Zarei burst into tears while talking about Ladan Tabatabaei, her co-star in this series, and moments later said, “Ladan and I worked very hard. We learned a lot in this series.” Mr. Fakhimzadeh also designed action moments. In one scene, I had to run, push aside the crowd, go over the fence, and jump on the horse. Every time the horse would move or something would happen, and the tenth time I ran, a woman from the cast said, “Do your job properly, or we’ll go home.”
Milani wanted me to play in “Two Women” but couldn’t find me
He explained about Tahmineh Milani’s film “Two Women”: He had offered this role to many people who were in the stock market and it didn’t come to fruition. He was watching the series “Fresh Air” and asked his assistant to find me. At that time, it wasn’t like they were constantly publishing news and photos and everyone was available. Until Ms. Mehri Shirazi introduced me to this job at the same time and I went to Ms. Milani’s office. I liked her a lot and a collaboration was formed.
I had been selected for “Red”, but Jairani replaced Hedieh Tehrani at the 90th minute
The actor stated that he had auditioned for Fereydoun Jairani’s “Red” before this film and was supposed to play with Amin Hayaei in this film, and said: The day I wanted to go to sign the contract and we were meeting at 10 o’clock, they told me that Nia and Mr. Jairani had talked to another actor. They meant dear Hedieh Tehrani. Amin did not act either, and they reached out to Mr. Mohammad Reza Foroutan, who later co-starred with him in “Two Women”. If I had gone for “Red”, my acting career would have gone in a different direction.
In “Two Women”, I had both this world and the afterlife, but “Relying on the Wind” was purely commercial
Referring to the release of “Two Women” during the freedom of cinema on 2nd Khordad, Zarei said: The film was very successful and was the first film whose poster was a photograph, not a painting. After that, I worked with Mr. Dariush Farhang in a commercial film and co-starred with Amin Hayaei, who was the leading star of those days. Dariush Farhang was an important person to me as the director of “Sultan and the Shepherd” and “Talisman”. In “Two Women”, I had both this world and the afterlife, and the critics, the box office and the public were satisfied. “Relying on the Wind” was also a purely commercial work that did not fail and attracted the attention of the box office cinema. After that, I had many offers, and it was important not to do anything.
Details of playing the role that brought Merila the Simorgh and numerous awards
He considered “A Little Mistake” a film in which he appeared because of Mohammad Reza Sharifinia, and about his short role in “Friday Soldiers” that brought him all the awards, he said: The role for which they introduced me to Mr. Masoud Kimiai was one line. Then they gave me a monologue. I asked Mr. Kimiai if he wanted me to do research on people like this? He said that just reading this would be enough. When I went home, I saw Masoud Kimiai was right, even reading this text is difficult. I sat down and read it and barely memorized it.
She added: When we arrived in the Khak Sefid neighborhood with Mr. Kimiai, I realized that there had been a demonstration to see him and that the entire neighborhood had come to welcome him. At 2:00 am, I was practicing when Mr. Kimiai said that we wanted to take the helm. I said, “Let’s go, Master, I have memorized the monologue and I am ready.” He asked his assistant, “Have you given the dialogues to Ms. Zarei?” I said, “Which dialogue?” He explained that the dialogues had been changed and they brought me a new sheet. I didn’t know what to do. I said I had to memorize this, but Masoud Kimiai said don’t worry, I’ll cut it. Cinema means cut.
After performing my first shot in “Friday Soldiers,” they gave me sugar water
Zarei recalled: I entered the set and saw people climbing lampposts and everyone was watching. I was nervous about changing the dialogue and acting in front of a charismatic director like Kimiai, and I was hoping to get a cut. I went screaming and crying, and when they gave me the cut, they gave me sugar water. Everything was in slow motion for me. Then they brought their decoupage office and drew lines on a few pages and changed their decoupage.
Masoud Kimiai said that they don’t give anyone a prize for my film, but you were good
He said at the end of the first part of this conversation: We started recording the monologue, and this sequence was 4 minutes long, and he promised me that he would cut it wherever I couldn’t. While performing the scene, I could hear the sound of Andisheh Foladvand, who was behind the camera, clapping, and when I was done, everyone was clapping for me. Mr. Kimiai came up to me and said, “My daughter, they don’t give awards to anyone in my film, but you were good.” That night, I was in a service with Bahram Radan and Pejman Bazeghi, and they were joking on the way, saying that the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress would go to Merila Zarei. It was funny to me, but it really happened.
