☰ Contents · Literature

Sharof Boshbekov and “Temir xotin”

Lessons 44–45 · 2 lessons · Q. Yo‘ldoshev, V. Qodirov, J. Yo‘ldoshbekov. Literature: textbook for Grade 9 of general secondary schools. Revised and expanded 4th edition. “O‘zbekiston” NMIU, Tashkent, 2019
44

Sharof Boshbekov

Textbook: pp. 257–258
GoalExplain Sharof Boshbekov’s creative path and how, by his own account, he became a dramatist; name his works.
New words
dramatist, playwright · dramaturgstage work · sahna asarifilm script · ssenariyhumour · yumor
Explanation

Sharof Boshbekov was born in 1951; he entered literature in the 1970s and works in drama, regarded as the most complex kind of literature. His stage works include “Taqdir eshigi”, “Tikansiz tipratikanlar”, “Eski shahar gavroshlari”, “Eshik qoqqan kim bo‘ldi?”, “Temir xotin”, “Tushov uzgan tulporlar”, “Charog‘bonlar” and “Tentak farishtalar”. He directed the film “Masxaraboz” from his own script, created the TV series “Charxpalak” and wrote scripts for several films. In his piece “O‘zim haqimda” he says nobody in his family was in the arts, that in his village school a singing lesson replaced other subjects, and that this led him to an acting school. As an actor he was intoxicated by large audiences, then realised actors speak others’ words and began to write himself. Reading ancient Greek and world dramas, he admits his first works came out “too foreign-looking” and he worked hard to return to the national side. His favourite tool is humour: he says serious things through funny situations and word play.

Worked examples
Example: Boshbekov says he first read Greek and world drama and then returned to his own national ground; this is a path of learning and returning to oneself. Learning from other literatures is useful, but one must not abandon one’s own life and language.
Example: humour has two jobs: making a work engaging and delivering a serious idea more lightly. So even a tragic event can be told with laughter.
Class activity

Write Boshbekov’s path from actor to dramatist in 4 sentences of your own. Then recall a funny film or play you like and say what serious idea its humour hides.

Practice
1
In which genre does Boshbekov work? Name two of his stage works.
2
Which TV series did he create?
3
Why did he move from acting to writing plays?
4
What do “foreign-looking” early works mean and what did the writer do?