TEHRAN -- The Association of Young Voice Actors (AYVA) paid tribute to veteran Iranian dubber Arshak Ghukasian during a ceremony on Saturday.

Society director Mehrdad Raisi, actor Hamed Behdad, and veteran dubbers Abbas Motma’enzadeh and Ali Kasmaii attended the event.
Ghukasian, who left Iran 28 years ago and resides in Toronto, Canada, returned to attend his commemoration ceremony which was arranged by some Iranian actors and dubbers.
“I owe my return to Iran to Hamed Behdad, Shahrokh Bahrololumi, Mahnaz Afshar and Bahram Radan and I thank all my friends who arranged this event,” Ghukasian mentioned.
“I really blame myself for all these years during which I bereaved myself of your kindness. One who is not in his or her homeland is just like a tree leaf that is separated from its branch,” he lamented.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Raeesi read a note about veteran Iranian dubbers which expressed appreciation for them and their works which are considered as a precious heritage for young artists.
Ghukasian’s voice is innocent, a characteristic which can be found in his personality. He pursued his career with love, Motma’enzadeh mentioned during the event.
At the ceremony, Behdad said that the dubbers teach young artists acting since in their craft, they translate the acting done by the world’s veteran artists.
“We have lost many artists and their enduring voices. If we achieve any success in our careers, we owe it to masters like Ghukasian and Kasmaii,” Behdad added.
“Today you have distinguished me with the title of Iran’s Father of Dubbing and I owe it to all my colleagues and mentors,” Kasmaee mentioned at the ceremony.
He expressed his happiness over holding of such commemoration ceremonies, advising young dubbers to follow their masters and not to be monopolistic in their art.
At the end of the ceremony, part of an interview with Ali Kasmaii and Arshak Ghukasian was screened for the audience.
Photo: Arshak Ghukasian (first from left) receives a prize from his veteran voice actor Ali Kasmaii during a ceremony held by the AYVA in Tehran on February 6, 2010 to honor the dubber. Actor Hamed Behdad (first from right) and AYVA director Mehrdad Raisi are seen clapping in the photo. (Mehr/Majid Asgaripur)