"I won't shut up! If you want money, go find it another way. I am not a commodity that you want to buy or sell! Gone are the days when men violated women's rights. Today is the era of women's freedom."
This is the famous dialogue uttered by Rufia, the actress who played Parveen, the daughter of Hajji Jabbar, in the movie "Night stay in hell / A Party in Hell (1957)". The image that Rufia presented of the daughter of a traditional and religious father was considered a new image of an independent and modern Iranian woman of the time.
Mah Jahan Solouki(April 3,1930 - August 15, 2023), with the stage name Rufia, was a famous Iranian actress of her time. She was born in Shishvan, a village of Ajabshir, in East Azerbaijan.
Rufia began her career in cinema in the early 1950s and left the cinema twelve years after at the peak of her popularity and fame. She said goodbye to acting many years before Azar Shiva, another famous Iranian actress, in protest of the status of women in Iranian cinema.
In 1955, she starred as Farrokh Lagha in "Prince Arsalan" (Amir Arsalan-e Namdar). Rufia appeared in 9 movies during a period of 12 years. She is best known for her roles as the title characters in Night stay in hell / A Party in Hell (Shab-neshini dar jahannam, 1956), Alish The Gypsy Girl (Alish Dokhtare Kowli, 1964), Storm in our Town (Toofan Dar Shahr Ma, 1958) and The Wild Angel (Fereshteh Vahshi, 1959).
Rufia died on August 15, 2023 at the age of 93 in Canberra, Australia.
Rufia, with the last name "Solouki", became known as "Farrokh Lagha of Iranian cinema" after her first appearance as Farrokh Lagha in "Prince Arsalan" directed by Shapur Yasami. She was one of the most beautiful female Iranian actresses before the 1979 revolution. The black mole under her cheek was known as the "Ruffian mole" and young girls used to put moles like it on their faces.
Rufia Solouki was born on April 3, 1930 in the Shishvan village of Ajabshir in East Azerbaijan. Some Persian sources mention her real name as "Mah Jahan", but her relatives do not confirm this name and they all call her "Rufia".
Abbas Ali, Rufia's father, was one of the famous Baha'is of the region. He studied in Russia and was engaged in agriculture and horticulture in Shishvan. Rufia's mother's name was Farkhondeh and she was a Muslim. Mother's family was one of the known owners of Ajabshir. Some of the children of these parents chose the religion of their father and some of them chose the religion of their mother, among them Rufia accepted the religion of her father and kept living as a Baha'i.
All the members of the Solouki family in Shishvan were well-known and educated. Rufia's older brother was the director of Raazi High School in Ajabshir and the head of "Knowledge Corps". Like her brothers, Rufia was literate, which was not common among rural women at that time.
Rufia also had a talent for poetry and a book of her poems has been preserved. Rufia's interest in art eventually led her to cinema and theater.
She immigrated to Tehran as a young girl where she worked as a hairdresser. Rufia's hair salon was located on Kamali Street next to Loghman Hospital. After a short time, this barber shop became famous among the locals. The reputation of the barber shop doubled after she appeared as Farrokh Lagha in "Prince Arsalan". Many women went there to have their hair styled by one of the most famous movie actors.
Rufia said in an interview that after seeing an recruitment advertisement for a female actor in a film publication, she decided to introduce herself to the film production group. At first, her mother opposed her decision. At that time, there was a lot of rumours, true or false, about the lives of actresses, and traditional families were not interested in their daughters appearing on screen. But Rufia's father encouraged his daughter to pursue acting.
"Prince Arsalan" was the first film in Rufia Solouki's acting career, which was released in Iranian cinemas in 1955. At first, Dr. Esmail Kushan (the film's producer) was against giving the role of Farrokh Lagha to Rufia, but finally Rufia was chosen for the role. The role opposite Rufia was played by Iloosh Khoshabe (known as Richard Lloyd in European cinema), an actor of Assyrian descent and an Iranian bodybuilding champion.
The story of the famous Amir Arsalan and his love for Farrokh Lagha was on the news in Iran's coffee houses. This movie was well received and was in the movie theaters for months.
Rufia appeared next in "A Party in Hell" in 1956. The film tells the story of a miser, greedy and disliked businessman named Hajji Jabbar who tries to make more money by any means even by forcing her daughter to marry a rich old man. Jabbar suddenly becomes sick and sees grim reaper who takes him to see hell in a long sequence. When Hajji Jabbar awakes he changes and tries to redeem himself. Rufia plays the role of Hajji's daughter, whose father wants her to marry a rich old man against her will. In this film, Rufia is a modern girl who stands against the patriarchal tradition ruling the society and does not obey the seemingly benevolent orders of men.
"A Party in Hell" was welcomed by the audience thanks to its new theme and stage design. This film was selected to compete in the main section of theBerlin Film Festival in 1958and was the first Iranian film participating in a prestigious international festival.
1966: Shahnameh Akharesh Khoshe, directed by Mushegh Sarvari (unfinished production)
1967: The third victim, directed by Abolghasem Malekouti.
Rufia's fame and talent in acting brought her to the stage of theater. She left the cinema, and entered the world of theater. "Eshghe Piri Gar Bejonbad" (1967), "Arshin Malalan" and "Professor Sosol" were among the plays that were staged with Rufia's performance.
Rufia Solouki, according to herself, never gave an interview to any magazine during her film career and always tried to keep her personal life above controversy. Although she was a popular actor, she did not have any close friends among actors and other people involved in the film industry. During the production of a film, she would sit in a corner and spend her time studying or preparing for the role.
The impact of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on Rufia's life:
Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Rufia's life, like other Bahá'ís, underwent a change and transformation. Persecution people of Baha'i faith became legal and official, their workplaces and homes were attacked. Every day news of the arrest or execution of Baha'is was published. Rufia was not only a Baha'i, but also one of the famous actors of the Pahlavi era. Therefore, after the revolution, her life was highly endangered.
Abbas Ali, Rufia's father, was together with his sons in Germany at the time of the revolution. But according to a note from Rufia, he decided to return to Shishvan to help his fellow Baha'is. When he arrived in Shisvan, he saw that his house had been burned and looted. He spent the night with one of his relatives in Shishvan and when he heard that they were going to arrest him, he fled to Tehran by car at night.
Abbas Ali Solouki died four years later in the hospital. They buried him with great effort in the Baha'i cemetery of Tehran, but after a while, this cemetery was destroyed by the order of the authorities of the Islamic Republic, and no trace of the corpses or graves remained.
After the death of her father, Rufia left Iran with her husband and went to Turkey. After she left the country, her house was attacked and confiscated by security forces.
She applied for asylum in Australia through the United Nations office in Turkey. Finally, in the winter of 1984, she went to Australia and settled in a small town called Cairns in the Australian aboriginal area and worked as a hairdresser for a living.
Rufia lived in this city for more than 30 years and moved to Canberra in 2017 for the treatment of glaucoma. As long as Rufia was alive, several Baha'i families living in Canberra nursed and cared for her. She died on 15 August 2023 at the age of 93 in Canberra.
Rufia's relatives remember that this famous Iranian movie actress lived in longing for her homeland until the end of her life and always missed Iran. (Source)
Selected filmography
Plays
Arshin Malalan Professor Sosool Eshghe Piri Gar Bejonbad (1965)
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