Born in Tehran, Iran, Mehrjui was the son of an upper middle-class art-loving family. Years later, he showed interest in painting miniatures, music, and playing santoor and piano.
Mehrjui later spent a lot of time going to the movies, particularly American films which were un-dubbed and inter-spliced with explanatory title cards that explained the plot throughout the films. At this time, Mehrjui started to learn English so as to better enjoy the films.
The film that had the strongest impact on him as a child was Vittorio De Sica's ('Umberto D.','The Garden of the Finzi-Continis') 1948 Italian black and white neorealist drama film 'Ladri di biciclette' ('Bicycle Thieves').
At the age of twelve, Mehrjui built a 35 mm projector, rented two-reel films and began selling tickets to his neighborhood friends.
Although raised in a religious household, Mehrjui said that, at the age of fifteen, "The face of God gradually became a little hazy for me, and I lost my faith."
In 1959, Mehrjui moved to the United States to study at University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) Department of Cinema. One of his teachers there was Jean Renoir ('La Chienne', 'Boudu Saved from Drowning', 'The Grand Illusion', 'The Rules of the Game', 'A Day in the Country',' The Golden Coach').
It was Renoir of whom Mehrjui credited for teaching him how to work with actors.
Eventually, Mehrjui was dissatisfied with the film program due to its emphasis on the technical aspects of film and the quality of most of the teachers.
Mehrjui has said of his educators, "They wouldn't teach you anything very significant... because the teachers were the kind of people who had not been able to make it in Hollywood themselves... [and would] bring the rotten atmosphere of Hollywood to the class and impose it on us."
He then switched his major to philosophy and graduated from UCLA in 1964.
Later that same year, Mehrjui started his own literary magazine entitled Pars Review. The magazine's intention was to bring contemporary Persian literature to western readers.
During this time, Mehrjui he wrote his first script with the intention of filming it in Iran. The following year, he moved back to Tehran in 1965.
Back in Tehran, Mehrjui found employment as a journalist and screenwriter. From 1966 to 1968, he was a teacher at Tehran's Center for Foreign Language Studies, where he taught classes in literature and English language.
Mehrjui also gave lectures on films and literature at the Center for Audiovisual Studies through the University of Tehran.
During this time, Mehrjui co-wrote and directed his debut feature. This was with the 1967 Iranian drama/thriller film 'Almaas 33' ('Diamond 33'), a big budget parody of the James Bond film series. Shot in color, the film was not financially successful.
However, two years later, Mehrjui's second feature was the one of which he is best known for co-writing, producing and directing.
This was the groundbreaking 1969 Iranian black and white drama film 'Gaav' ('The Cow'). It was also co-written by prolific Iranian writer Gholam-Hossein Saedi, based off of his own play and novel.
'Gaav' tells of an old, simple villager named Masht Hassan (Ezzatolah Entezami). Deeply in love with his cow, (his only possession), he goes to the capital for a while.
During his absence, the cow passes and now the villagers are afraid of his possible reaction to it when he returns. They decide to bury the cow and tell Hassan that it has run away.
While in mourning for the cow, Hassan goes to the barn where it was kept and begins to assume the cow's identity.
When his friends attempt to take him to a hospital, Hassan commits suicide. This compelling, symbolic drama shows the rural impoverishment that existed under the Shah of Persia.
The film's development included the Iranian prince of the Buyid dynasty Abu Taleb Rostam (known Majd ad-Dawla) was reported to have thought of himself as a cow.
He was subsequently cured of his delusion by the medieval Persian physician Avicenna. It is possible that elements of the plot of 'The Cow' were inspired by this.
Upon its release, 'The Cow' was banned for over a year by the Ministry of Culture and Arts, despite being one of the first two film in Iran to receive government funding.
This was most likely due to Saedi being a controversial figure in Iran. His work was highly critical of the Pahlavi government, and he had been arrested sixteen times.
When 'The Cow' was finally released in 1970, it was highly praised and won an award at the Ministry of Culture's film festival, but it was still denied an export permit.
In 1971, the film was smuggled out of Iran and submitted to the 32nd Venice Film Festival where, without programming or subtitles, became the largest event of that year's event and winning the FIPRESCI Prize.
'The Cow' later brought Mehrjui national and international recognition. Critics widely consider it the first film of the Iranian New Wave.
Iranian revolutionary, politician, cleric and founder of the Islamic Public of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini was reported to also have admired 'The Cow'.
This in turn was reported to have been the saving grace that allowed Iranian cinema to continue rather than being banned after the Iranian Revolution. It had been ongoing since 1978 through strikes and demonstrations.
The Iran's monarchy collapsed on February 11, 1979 when guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting.
Iran voted by national referendum to become an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979, and to approve a new theocratic constitution whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country, in December 1979.
Mehrjui has stated that he, "enthusiastically took part in the revolution, shooting miles of reels of its daily events."
After the revolution, the censorship of the Pahlavi regime was lifted, and for a time, artistic freedom seemed to flourish in the country.
It was reported that Khomeini saw 'The Cow' on Iranian television and liked it, calling it "very instructive" and commissioning new prints to be made for distribution.
However, the Khomeini government would go on to impose its own rules for censorship in Iran, specifically laws that were in accordance to Islamic law. It was also required that a government official be present during the shooting of all films.
The one constant in Mehrjui's work has been his attention to the discontents of contemporary, primarily urban, Iran.
Since 'The Cow', Mehrjui has been instrumental in paving the way for the Iranian cinematic renaissance, so called the Iranian New Wave.
This also goes along with Iranian film director and screenwriter Nasser Taqvai and Iranian film director, screenwriter and producer Masoud Kimiai.
Modern Iranian cinema begins with Mehrjui. He had introduced realism, symbolism, and the sensibilities of art cinema. His films have some resemblance with those of De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, Satyajit Ray.
However, Mehrjui also added something distinctively Iranian, in the process starting one of the greatest modern film waves.
Mehrjui has been active from 1966–present.
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