"This loss had a very heavy impact on Azerbaijani cinema. We lost Rasim, who was the face of Azerbaijani cinema. At this moment, I cannot bring myself to speak about him in the past tense. As strange as it may sound, I still want to address him right now.
Modern.az reports that these words were uttered by People's Artist Shafiqah Mammadova at the farewell ceremony for Rasim Balayev.
“Rasim… Rasim, we deeply feel your absence, we miss you greatly. We had many plans for you, which means we had many words to say. But we couldn't say them… we didn't think it would be like this.
Rasim, you lived a very honorable life. This is where the consolation lies. You lived honestly and with dignity. You added so much value to the history of Azerbaijani cinema that you immortalized yourself in this art. Your name was written in beautiful letters in Azerbaijani history.
You became the head of this large, beautiful family. In friendship, you were very loyal, very faithful. You were proud of your friends, and your friends loved you very much. You created films, gave life to films, created characters, and bequeathed all of them to the Azerbaijani people. And finally, you became the beloved of the Azerbaijani people. You were a true People's Artist. The Azerbaijani people, and the generations of today and tomorrow, will not forget you. Because the characters you created, the films you starred in, will keep you alive. May your name always shine. May your legacy live on. Farewell…”.
