TEHRAN – Ali-Asghar Juleh, the veteran cinema photographer who was better known by his nickname Asghar Bichareh, died at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday. His death coincided with his 89th birthday.

Bichareh was suffering from laryngeal cancer for several years and had left Iran to receive further treatment in the U.S., Persian media reported on Sunday.

In a phone call with his family, Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani announced that his body will be buried in the Artists Section of Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery after being transferred to Iran.

Born in 1927 in Tehran, Bichareh was responsible for compiling a large archive of photographic works which includes the first photographs taken by the Qajar king Nasser al-Din Shah (1821-1900). He also wrote a three-volume book on Iran’s cinematic history.

One of his lifetime achievements was the collection of numerous pieces of historic apparatus and documents pertaining to Iranian photography.

He achieved worldwide fame when Abdolhossein Sepanta invited him to Germany to develop photographic work for his film “The Lor Girl”.

Sepanta’s “The Lor Girl” was the first talking film as well as one of the first productions in a Muslim country to cast a female. He began production of “The Lor Girl” at the Imperial Film Co. in Bombay. The movie was screened in October 1933 in Tehran and surprisingly it was a major hit.

Bichareh also appeared in several films during his long career including “Captain Khorshid”, “Oh Iran” and “Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine”.

Photo: Asghar Bichareh acknowledges the audience gathered at the Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum on May 26, 2007 to honor the photographer for his lifetime achievements. (Mehr/Baqer Nasir)

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