Interview - Rovshan Agayev

Return to The 40th Door Interview with Rovshan Agayev (Edik) Your character (Edik) looks like a typical criminal, if a little bit more elegant and refined. How did you prepare for the role? Well, this character really is a big criminal in the film. However, Edik’s elegant appearance is sort of a cover for him, a way of hiding the fact that, in reality, he’s just a common thief. Edik is a young man who went through a time of Soviet leadership, where an elegant looking man was regarded as wise and educated, and nobody would suspect that he could be a thief or a felon. Despite Edik’s occupation, he shows a kind of mercy towards Rustram. Do you think that a thief can be both a good and bad person according to the situation? There is a moment in the film when Edik bring Rustram a drum that he bought with stolen money. Rustram rejects the gift, saying that he will buy it himself. At that moment, Edik nervously explains why he steals, and why he is proud of being a thief. He says that he only robs those who rob others, namely society’s privileged elite who hide behind unjust laws to carry out their crimes. What was the biggest challenge while filming the movie? There are a lot of social problems that came from the past and still exist in the present. We tried to show people the real world that is hidden by people who are too proud, or who think that talking about their problems is humiliating. We tried to show that being poor and having only a small piece of bread doesn’t mean that you can’t still share it with others who are in need. How was the relationship with the Director and your fellow actors like young Hasan Safarov? This film was made in 40 days. That must seem like quite a coincidence considering the name, but it’s true! We worked for almost the entire day during this period, even though it was a very hot summer. This was Hasan’s first film, and he is a really talented guy. He Was quite professional, which helped us complete the whole film within such a short period. Will the viewers in the U.S. and Latin America appreciate the vision of Azerbaijan shown in the movie? Do you think the movie reflects life in your country? Azerbaijan is a developing country. We were part of the Soviet Union. Since its collapse, we became a market economy, and people who never had any knowledge or experience in business faced many problems until they learned the basics from Western countries. Some parts of life in this country are very different from those we show in the film, but other parts live with the problems that we depict. Are you working on any new projects at the moment? We are working on a new project. Hopefully by next year it will be financed by sponsors as well as our Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Return to The 40th Door