February 21-2014
. . . Behesht
Songstress Googoosh has released a new music video that supports the rights of gays and lesbians.
The video, titled “Behesht” (Heaven), was released on her Facebook page on Valentine’s Day,
“The end of this road is not clear, I know this, just like you do,” sings Googoosh. “Don’t tell me to stop loving. You can’t do that and I can’t either.”
Navid Akhavan, who wrote and directed the video, told The Guardian it had been viewed by thousands of people in Iran online or via satellite channels.
“The reactions we have seen so far have been tremendous,” he said. “The comments I have read online and the messages I have received from people within the Iranian LGBT community have brought tears to my eyes.”
He said: “We knew from the start that because of its topic the video is going to be very controversial among Iranians. That’s why we expected negative feedback too, but that hasn’t bothered me, nor Googoosh.”
A number of conservative websites in Iran have denounced Googoosh for the video. Enghelab News said she was an anti-revolutionary who had sold herself to monarchists and Baha’is. It said the video was produced to spread decadence in Iranian society. Another website, Khabar Online, labeled it an obscene video aimed at promoting hideous acts.
Unlike many other Iranian singers, Googoosh refused to leave Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, even though she was barred from performing anymore. She finally left Iran in 2000, moving to Toronto, and sang for the first time after 21 years of silence. She now lives in Los Angeles.
At the age of 63, she still performs in periodic concerts, mainly in North America and the Persian Gulf. She first performed in public at the age of three.
