Melis Abzalov

Melis Aripovich Abzalov (spelled Mels or Melis in different publications) was born on 18 November 1938 in the town of Yangiyul in the Tashkent region. In 1956 he entered the Ostrovsky Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute and graduated in 1961. He acted on the stage of the Tashkent Theatre of Young Spectators while still a student and joined its company after graduating.

After about a year he left the theatre for cinema: from 1962 he worked at the Uzbekfilm studio as an assistant director and an actor. In 1970–1972 he studied in Moscow at the Higher Courses for Screenwriters and Directors under the USSR State Committee for Cinematography, then returned to Uzbekfilm and continued to work as both director and actor.

His first independent film as a director was “Chinor tagidagi duel” (The Duel under the Plane Tree, 1979). In the following years he made mostly comedies: “Suyunchi” (1982), “Kelinlar qoʻzgʻoloni” (The Rebellion of the Brides, 1985), based on a play by Said Ahmad, “Armon” (1986) and “Maysaraning ishi” (1989), based on Hamza’s comedy. “Kelinlar qoʻzgʻoloni” became one of the best-loved comedies of Uzbek cinema.

After independence Abzalov filmed Abdulla Qodiriy’s novel as “Oʻtgan kunlar” (Days Gone By, 1997), writing the screenplay himself; later he directed “Chimildiq”, “Baribir hayot goʻzal” (After All, Life Is Good, 2004), “Sirli sirtmoq” (The Secret Trap, 2008) and “Taʼziyadagi toʻy” (The Wedding at a Funeral, 2010). As an actor he appeared in nearly forty films, among them Eshon Zaynullo in “This Happened in Kokand” and the sorcerer Qorashoh in “The Adventures of Arslan”.

Abzalov was an Honoured Art Worker of the Uzbek SSR (1987) and received the Order “Mehnat shuhrati” in 2008. He spent his last years in Stockholm with the family of his daughter Nazira and died there in October 2016 of a heart attack.