Behind the scenes of the film "Winter Evening in Gagra": How Evgeny Evstigneev met his fate on the set

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Since the release of the musical film by Karen Shakhnazarov "Winter evening in Gagra" 32 years have passed, but this touching story still brings tears to the audience. Few of them know that no less interesting plots unfolded behind the scenes: the main character had a real prototype, whose life was dramatic. And for the actor who embodied his image on the screen, this film became fateful - after all, on the set, Evgeny Evstigneev met a woman with whom he lived until the end of his days.

Few viewers know that the main character of the film had a real prototype - the tap dancer Alexey Bystrov. In the 1950s. his name was well known not only to the Soviet, but also to the foreign public. He became one of the first dancers in the USSR to master the tap dance to perfection. He has performed with the Eddie Rosner jazz band. Alexey Bystrov's acquaintance with Karen Shakhnazarov took place on the set of the film "We are from jazz", where Bystrov worked as a tap dance tutor.

The director said: "".

Stepist Beglov could be played by Oleg Efremov, Pyotr Shcherbakov or Yevgeny Leonov, who auditioned for the main role in this film. However, Evgeny Evstigneev so wanted to be approved, that he managed to convince the director. He came to the film studio every day and visited Shakhnazarov under any pretext. The director recalled: "". And she became one of the most beloved in the filmography of the actor.

In order to play a tap player, he trained long and hard. His teacher was Vladimir Kirsanov, who said that the actor has an innate sense of rhythm and therefore learns so quickly. But nevertheless, Vladimir Kirsanov himself performed the most complex elements instead of him in the film.

The role of the daughter of the main character was claimed by the actress Irina Tsyvina. As a result, another actress was approved instead of her, but she calls this film fateful - after all, on the set, the actress met Yevgeny Evstigneev, with whom they soon got married. Their first date took place on the set, which then no one knew about, except for themselves. Irina Tsyvina became his third wife and last love.

The role of the adult daughter of the stepist Beglova went to Svetlana Amanova, and for her she became prophetic: in the film, she tells her father that she is marrying a journalist, and in real life, after some time, the actress actually married the editor-in-chief of one of the newspapers. The fate of the youngest actress, 7-year-old Anya Ivanova, who played Beglov's daughter in childhood, was interesting. In the future, her life was also associated with dancing: she became a ballerina. It was after this film that her parents realized that the girl had dancing abilities, and sent her to a choreographic school.

Alla Pugacheva became the prototype of the heroine Natalia Gundareva. She could have appeared in the frame herself, but she refused the role - she did not want the audience to associate her with the image of a scandalous star. The singer suggested that the director rewrite the role specifically for her, but he refused. As a result, the role went to Gundareva. She wanted to perform all the solo parts in this film herself, but Shakhnazarov insisted that a professional singer do it - and Gundareva sang on the screen in the voice of Larisa Dolina.

According to the magazine "Soviet Screen", this work of Karen Shakhnazarov was recognized as the best musical film of 1986. And in the creative biography of the actor who played the main role, she became another peak. However, all his works are admirable, and his remarks immediately become aphorisms: the most famous quotes from popular films by Evgeny Evstigneev.