Human memory can forget many things – faces, dates, even events... But there are sounds that leave a mark in the deepest layers of memory. When we hear these sounds, the people we immediately recognize come alive before our eyes.
Sound is emotion, character, life. Sometimes, the character created by voice-over artists in a film can overshadow the role played by the actor. Because they bring the character to life not only with words, but also with breath, pause, tone, and rhythm.
They play the character within the actor once again. But only with sound, breath, and rhythm.
The work of these artists is by no means easy – they often have to convey the soul of an entire character with just one or two sentences. Sometimes they must cry without shedding a single tear, and sometimes laugh unintentionally. To cry with sound, to bring joy with sound – this is the highest acting skill.
Imagine: you are watching Afat's actions in the film “Qaynana”, but the voice that conveys her thoughts, fears, and joys to us, whispering all her inner emotions into our ears, belongs to another artist. It is at this moment that you realize voice-over is not just a technical process – it is the most subtle field of acting.
The Modern.az website presents its first feature in the “That Voice in Our Memory” section.
We did not mention the character of Afat in the film “Qaynana” by chance above. That role, performed by Russian actress Inara Guliyeva, was voiced by People's Artist, talented recitation master and actress Amina Yusifqizi. Unfortunately, the owner of this captivating voice passed away yesterday at the age of 89.
And that voice will be heard no more...
Reference: Amina Yusifqardash qizi Yusifova was born on September 24, 1936, in the Bakikhanov settlement of Baku. She studied in the Bakikhanov settlement until the seventh grade of secondary school. She then continued her education in the Sabunchu settlement. In 1961, she graduated from the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Russian Language and Literature named after M.F. Akhundov. She was an actress at the Azerbaijan State Theatre of Young Spectators (1958–1964) and the Azerbaijan National Drama Theatre (1964–1974).
From 1974, she worked at the "Azerbaijanfilm" film studio. She acted in many films and television plays. She became famous for her invaluable work in dubbing and voice-over. She was known as a master of artistic recitation.
The actress married a classmate she studied with in secondary school. From this marriage, she had a daughter named Saadat. However, their marriage did not last until the end. Specifically, although her husband's family pressured Amina Khanum to distance herself from the acting profession, she did not agree, and thus, her family broke up.
Considering her services to the development of our culture, she was awarded the honorary titles of “Honored Artist” in 1982, “People's Artist” in 1998, and the “Shokhrat” (Glory) Order in 2016.
Three months before her death, the actress fell and broke her leg. After breaking her leg, the actress, who had to adopt a sedentary lifestyle, passed away without fully recovering. It is reported that she died of heart disease.
Amina Yusifqizi's voice seemed to drape over characters like a silk fabric – soft, yet powerful. In her voice, there was both a mother's tenderness, a woman's will, and a subtle sorrow. You would probably agree that there are very few artists in Azerbaijani cinema who could express the psychological depth of female characters as beautifully as her voice.
As time passes, many faces are forgotten, but there are voices that, even after years, are not erased from memory. Amina Yusifqizi's voice was one of those voices.
Amina Khanum's voice was sometimes a bridge that conveyed the entire moral depth of a character, and sometimes awakened feelings on a silent screen. The art of voice-over – an unseen, yet very important aspect of cinema and theatre. Amina Yusifqizi has gone down in history as one of the rare masters of this art.
Among the characters voiced by Amina Yusifqizi, there were many heroes she did not physically play, but brought to life with her voice. It was thanks to her rich-timbre, subtly harmonious, and emotion-filled voice that these characters left a mark in the audience's memory. The subtlety, intonation, and psychological depth in her voice seemed to infuse the inner world of the characters into the audience's hearts.
We came to know and love Madina in “Alma almaya bənzər”, Gulchohra in “Arshin Mal Alan”, Rana in “Bir cənub şəhəri”, Banuchichak in “Dada Gorgud”, Saida in “Ən vacib müsahibə”, Zuleykha in “Qanun naminə”, Habiba in “Qatır Məmməd”, Sevda in “Onu bağışlamaq olarmı”, Ulduz in the film “Ulduz”, and many other delicate characters through Amina Yusifqizi's voice.
Amina Yusifqizi also left an indelible mark in our art history as a tireless promoter of classical and contemporary Azerbaijani poetry. On the air of the Azerbaijan State Television and Radio, where she worked for many years, examples of the works of our prominent poets found their way into the hearts of viewers and listeners through her recitation.
In Amina Yusifqizi's performance, poetry seemed not to speak – it breathed in, breathed out, trembled... In her voice, there was the lament of the homeland, a mother's lullaby, the warmth of love, and the cry of sorrow. Every verse transformed into a destiny on her tongue. She didn't just read the poem – she lived it.
The poetry of Samad Vurgun and Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh gained new nuances in Amina Yusifqizi's voice. Her diction, pauses, the rhythm and tonality of her voice were chosen with such professionalism that for the listener, it was not merely a performance, but a true embodiment of art. In Amina Khanum's recitation, it was as if the poet himself was speaking. This cannot be explained by talent alone – it was a professionalism born from a deep love for culture, literature, and the listener.
Her trembling, yet equally resolute voice not only remained in memories but also left a mark on hearts. Amina Yusifqizi also taught us how poetry should sound in the mother tongue. For her, the mother tongue was not merely a tool – it was the main pillar of her being and her art.
Amina Yusifqizi was also a school – those who listened to her learned not only poetry, but also the art of feeling, sensing, and speaking in silence.
Perhaps, from now on, when we listen to her voice again, we will travel back in time for a moment, experiencing a sense of nostalgia...
A.Qorxmaz
