Mohsun Sanani (Mohsun Jafarov) was born in the Sheytanbazar neighborhood of Tbilisi. He lost his parents very early and grew up under the care of his grandmother, then his aunt Zinyat (mother of actor Ali Gurbanov).

He studied at a madrasa since 1906.

Since 1909, he has been working hard in Sheytanbazar to earn a living. In 1911, he performed in the episode "Gasim's Room" in the shabih performances shown during the month of Muharram. The pleasant sound of the elegy-ode he sang on the mugham "Hijaz" spread throughout the neighborhood. Mirzakhan Guliyev, an actor of the amateur theater troupe of Azerbaijanis in Tbilisi, invited him to the drama club of students and teenagers. He began his stage career in 1915 in the Tbilisi Muslim Theater troupe, and participated in performances by Azerbaijani theater enthusiasts in Tbilisi (1915-1919). In 1919, he came to Baku. For a while, he performed as an amateur actor. In addition to working at the Azerbaijan National Drama Theater since 1921, he also played in performances prepared at the Baku Turkish Workers' Theater (1927-1930). He contributed to the establishment of the Kumug Theater.

He played the role of Colonel Abiyev in the Russian-made film "Star" (1949, directed by Alexander Ivanov).

Honored Artist (1943), People's Artist (1949) Mohsun Sanani died in 1981 and was buried in the II Alley of Honor.