Uzbek president’s daughter releases duet with Depardieu

Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov who is also known under the name of GooGoosha as a pop star, has released a duet with French actor Gerard Depardieu.

In a song named “Nebo Molchit” (The Sky is Keeping Silent), posted on Gulnara Karimova’s website realgoogoosha.com, the French actor reads a poem written by Karimova.

Uzbek FM radio stations have started playing the song, where Depardieu lyrically reads Karimova’s poem in French under her voice singing in Russian.

The duet was recorded when France’s best known actor visited Tashkent last week to discuss his role in an Uzbek serial about the origin of the famed Central Asian silk route and set in the 5th-6th centuries in Central Asia.

The script of the serial was written jointly by Karimova and Uzbek writer Akbar Khakimov, and Depardieu agreed to play the role of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the film, producers said.

Depardieu, 63, is due to appear in court in France next week on drink driving charges after last month falling off his scooter, which he had been riding while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit.

Karimova, 40, has become a public face of Uzbekistan, a largely Muslim but secular state with a population of around 30 million, serving as its permanent representative in the United Nations in Geneva and as its ambassador in Spain until last year.

She also runs jewellery, cosmetics and clothing lines under her Guli label.