The Iranian Forensic Medicine Organization ruled out suicide and announced that he died of a heart attack about five days ago. Panahi was 47 years old.
Panahi will be buried beside his ancestors in his birthplace, Dej-Kuh village in Kohkiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad province.
His made his movie debut in Abolfazl Jalili’s “The Scabies” in 1986. In 1990, he received the Plaque of Honor at the Ninth Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran for his unforgettable acting in Hossein Dalir’s “Shadow of a Dream.” Director Mas’ud Jafari Jozani wrote the screenplay for “Shadow of a Dream”.
Panahi wrote several plays including “Two Ducks in the Mist”, “Two Big Ears of the Wall”, “Something Like Life”, “One Flower and Spring”, “Bibiyun”, and “The Prophets Without Books.”
Panahi also wrote poetry that he wanted published posthumously.
One of his posters was distributed at the funeral ceremony, on which he had written: “I will never go to heaven if my mother is not there.”
“He worked to write his grievances on paper,” Jozani said at that funeral ceremony.
“I don’t know why he used to say that he would live no more than 40 years,” Jozani added.
Panahi usually played the role of the fool or a simpleton. Once, when asked in an interview why he played the role of the fool, he said, “This is a mystery which will be revealed after my death.”
Panahi’s lifestyle was based on Jesus Christ’s saying that people could only enter the kingdom of heaven as a child, Jozahi said.
Panahi studied for a while at the Qom Islamic Seminary.
He was also the brother of controversial director Ja’far Panahi.
Panahi’s acting credits include “In the Wind’s Eye” (1988), “Hey Joe” (1988), “Legacy” (1988), “The Actor” (1992), “The Migrants” (1992), “The Day of the Event” (1994), as well as the TV series “Health District” (1980), “Ra’na” (1989), “Once Upon a Time” (1993), “Yahya and Golabetun” (1995), “The Kidnappers of Grandma” (1996), and “Friendship Agency” (2000).
IRIB Channel 1 is currently broadcasting the series “Song of Mist” starring Panahi and Iranian cinema veterans Khosrow Shakiba’i, Sa’id Pursamimi, and Sorayya Qassemi.
The teleplay and the stage version of “Two Ducks in the Mist” were both widely acclaimed by critics and theatergoers.
MMS/HG/IS
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MNA
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