Mohammad Ali Fardin

Fardin was born and raised in a poor area in southern Tehran.[1] He was the eldest of three children.[1] After graduating from high school, Fardin joined the Air Force and became a freestyle wrestler in his twenties; he won a silver medal at the 1954 World Wrestling Championships and placed fourth in 1957.[2][1]

Fardin was a popular lead actor in Iranian cinema, and was known by the title, King of Hearts, after his lead role in an Iranian film of the same title (Soltane Ghalbha).[2]

He rose to fame in the 1960s. For the average Iranian, he was a heroic figure who served as an alternative to non Iranian movie stars. He was stereotypically cast as the poor tough guy with the heart of gold who got the girl at the end. His films include, Behesht Door Nist, Ghazal, and Ganje Qarun. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, he starred in only two more films, Bar Faraz -e- Asemanha and Barzakhiha.

He also acted in the Indo Iranian Bollywood film Subah O Sham[3] (1972) starring alongside Waheeda Rehman, Sanjeev Kapoor, Simin Ghaffari and Azar. The film was directed by Tapi Chanakya. His voice in the film was dubbed by Satyen Kappu.

Fardin died as a result of cardiac arrest on 6 April 2000 at the age of 69.[4] The news of his death was largely ignored by state radio and television, which was run according to the dictates of the Islamic establishment, who had disapproved of his acting career and had banned his films post the 1979 revolution. He was buried in the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery in Tehran. More than 20,000 mourners attended his funeral in Tehran.[5]