Pouri Banai (11 October 1940, Arak, Iran)

Pouri Banai (born 11 October 1940, Arak, Iran) is a veteran Iranian theatre, film and television actress.

She started her acting career in 1965 in pre-revolution Iranian cinema with Aroos-e Farangi directed by Vahdat. She had a memorable performance as Azam in Masoud Kimiai's Gheisar.

In 1975, she starred in Fereydun Gole's The Mandrake (Mehre Giah). The last film in which she appeared before 1979 was "Maryam and Mani" in 1978 directed by Kobra Amin-Saidi (best known as Shahrzad).

Some of her films, like The Mandrake and The Falconet, in addition to Gheisar and Ghazal are considered milestones in performances of Iranian cinema before revolution.

In 1967 Banai co-starred with Behrouz Vossoughi, a famous Iranian actor. They cooperated in many films and in 1970 they appeared together in Gheisar, known as one of the major Iranian films and a symbol of Iranian new wave. She also co-starred with other superstars of the time such as: Mohammad Ali Fardin, Naser Malek Motiee, Manouchehr Vossough, Iraj Ghaderi, Ali Nasirian, and Parviz Sayyad. Most of the Iranian movies were dubbed in those days and famous actors and actresses had specific dubbers. Zhaleh Kazemi was Pouri Banai's dubber.

She participated in some foreign and common films during her career, including Leslie H. Martinson's 1978 film, Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident; Fereydun Goleh's 1977 film, The Moon and a Murmur, made in the US and Iran; Jean Negulesco's last film, The Invincible Six in 1970; Jun'ya Satō's 1973 adaptation of Golgo 13, which was a joint production of Iran and Japan; and some Turkish films such as Ah bu gençlik (Oh, youth), Tek basina (Loneliness) and Tövbekar (The Regretful).

She was also one of the hundred women who appeared in Abbas Kiarostami's 2007 film "Shirin" as one of the actresses among an all-female audience watching a movie.

Filmography

2016   Razor’s Edge: The Legacy of Iranian Actresses (2016)
1976   Atash-e jonoob (1976)
1975   The Falconet | Zanburak (1975)
1975   The Mandrake - Mehre giah (1975)
1975   Ghazal (1975)
1973   The Married Man | Ayalvar (1973)
1970   The Invincible Six | Ghahremanan (1970)
1969   Gheisar | Qaysar (1969)
1968   Dozd-e Siyahpoush | The Black Suit Thief (1968)
1966   Goodbye Tehran | Khodahafez Tehran (1966)