Tahar Rahim, go up, up, to the top of the poster. Here he is now chosen to play Charles Aznavour in a French biopic, according to exclusive information from Variety. Entitled Mr. Aznavourthe film will be directed by Mehdi Idir and the author, composer and performer Grand Corps Malade. Both have already made a name for themselves behind the camera with Patients (2016) et Student services office (2019). They have been working on writing the screenplay for this new film for a year and a half.
Notable fact, Variety reveals that Charles Aznavour, who died in 2018 at the age of 94, had given the green light to this biopic project. “He was impressed by Patients, and when I told him that I wanted to make a film about his life one day, he said “yes” right away”, explains Jean-Rachid Kallouche, who will co-produce the film with his company Kallouche Productions, founded in 2016 with Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade. As for their two previous films, he will work with Mandarin Productions. Producer, he is also the husband of Katia Aznavour, the daughter of Charles Aznavour.
A story of rising to stardom
What will this biopic devoted to one of the last legends of French song be about? “The film will trace Aznavour’s rise to stardom in the 1950s and his friendships with many artists, including Edith Piaf, who took him with her on a tour of France and the United States”, reveals Variety. The Franco-Armenian singer would have himself suggested the idea of telling the first part of his life and his career, “from zero to celebrity”, reports Jean-Rachid Kallouche. The producer sees in Tahar Rahim all the qualities to interpret Charles Aznavour, believing that they share “the same sensitivity, the same dynamism and the same passion for their work, as well as a mischievous look”.
Like Charles Aznavour, Tahar Rahim has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the film industry since his first major role in 2009 in A prophet by Jacques Audiard. Lately, his performances in Found Guilty et The snake, a series airing on Netflix, have been acclaimed by critics all the way to Hollywood. Before tackling the repertoire of the legendary singer and musician, he pushed the song last year in the Don Juan by Serge Bozon, with Virginie Efira. On February 24, he will preside over the 48th Cesar ceremony.
The filming of Mr. Aznavour should begin this summer, for a release of the film scheduled for 2024, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Charles Aznavour.
