Legendary Georgian actresses who remembered all their charisma and talent Bashny.Net

Legendary Georgian actresses of theater and cinema captivated more than one generation of Soviet viewers. They are remembered for their charisma and talent. The life of everyone can serve as the basis of a biographical novel or a movie, because Georgian actresses, having created many bright, unforgettable images, glorified their homeland with their works, won the love of all Georgia, became famous all over the world.



Instagram / @caucas.us Georgian actresses are all special. Which one should I talk about first? Among the many admiring audience reviews like “Bravo!”, “Pride of the country”, “Talentishche” happened here, quite suitable for the beginning of the conversation: “I love Iya Ninidze most of all.” She remained for me that sophisticated girl from the movie “Heavenly Swallows”. As a child, I watched it and imagined dancing with girls.

Iya Ninidze was born on September 8, 1960 in Tbilisi. The girl’s father was a director, her mother taught Russian. Iya Borisovna said that among her ancestors, Princes Berdzenishvili and Trubetsk-Gansky, what she is proud of, and therefore tries to stick to life (although in the lists of Georgian Nobility the name Berdzenishvili does not appear; perhaps, contrary to the name, these lists are not quite complete).

The family loved art. There was a piano in the grandparents' house. My mother and grandmother often played music and sang. The baby sang along with them, grew up musical. Her main passion was ballet. From the age of five, Iya was engaged in her favorite art.



Once director Georgy Danelia in the ballet studio of the Palace of Pioneers noticed a thin girl, diligently working out the given steps, and immediately invited Iya to star in the movie. But she refused, they say, wants not to act in a movie, but to dance. But the mother and grandmother persuaded – and the film debut of the eight-year-old Iki, as Iu was called at home and wrote her name in the credits.

In the classic Georgian film “Do not grieve”, the girl played the role of Tsitsino, the niece of the main character – a young doctor Benjamin Glonty. And not lost among the star actors.

Moreover, the film connected the work and life of those Georgian actresses whom the world knows. The role of Benjamin’s sister was played by the bright, colorful Sofiko Chiaureli, who showed care for the debutante during the filming. Iya Borisovna still speaks with admiration about how much inspiration, imagination, improvisation the actress put into each episode.



Instagram / @ia_ninidze_fan And the great Verico Anjaparidze, aka Sofiko Chiaureli's mother, played in "Don't Grieve" the characteristic role of the mother of one of the patients of the aspiring Dr. Glonti.

And none of these three did not know then that they were destined to be related: when Ii Ninidze turns seventeen, she will become the wife of the eldest son Sofiko and, of course, Verico’s grandson – Nikolai Shengelai. Their marriage broke up, and the sympathy between the actresses became stronger over time and lasted a lifetime.

Heavenly Swallows Ii, by the way, liked the filming, so a few years later she willingly agreed to play Maro in the musical film “Melodies of the Veri Quarter” (directed by George Shengelaya, 1973). And her character lived a dream of dancing. Here Ika again starred with Sofiko Chiaureli.



By the beginning of the filming of the two-part TV movie “Heavenly Swallows”, the girl was only 14 years old, but she has already managed to star in five films. Before the auditions at Lenfilm, as Iya Borisovna remembers, although there was a big competition, confidence did not leave her. After all, Denise is very similar to her: the same “light, open, hooliganistic and at the same time naive.”

The tests were very liked by the director Leonid Kvinikhidze. But many colleagues persuaded him not to risk, entrusting the main role to a too young artist. And Kvinikhidze began to doubt.

Georgian Audrey Hepburn Everything was decided by chance: just then the director from the United States George Cukor came to the film studio, who began working with Lenfilm on the musical Blue Bird. When he was shown the studio, he saw footage of Ea's samples. Cukor was struck by the similarity of the girl with Audrey Hepburn, and he immediately asked to “give” him the actress. In Kvinidze all doubts disappeared. Iya Ninidze was cast as Denise de Florigny/Mademoiselle Nitos on stage.



Instagram / @caucas.us After the premiere of "Heavenly Swallows" Ia immediately gained all-Union popularity. Talent, organicity, grace, plasticity of the girl helped to brilliantly embody the image of Denise - then a diligent, modest pupil of the monastery boarding house, then a bold lover of adventure, ready to risk a lot for the sake of realizing a dream, then a playful and tender lover, then a bright star of the stage suddenly flashed...

"Repentance" And with Verico Anjaparidze, the already adult Iya Ninidze starred in a landmark work for the era. We are talking about the film-parable of Tengiz Abuladze “Repentance”, where Ninidze appeared as Guliko Aravidze – Abel’s wife. As befits parables, the film is rich in allegories, metaphors, symbols, allusions. So with her small role, Iya was able to say a lot about heroin. About a woman whose thoughts, feelings, lifestyle, harmony are combined only for decency. Especially eloquent eyes, like the frozen poses of Guliko, her dance at the coffin of her father-in-law.

And Verico Anjaparidze, appearing in the finale of “Repentance” in the image of a wanderer, uttered very important words: “What is the road to if it does not lead to the temple?”

The filmography of Ii Ninidze contains more than forty roles in films and television series. But Iya Borisovna played a lot in the theater. Now she performs more solo programs, combining literature, theater and vocals.



By the way, Ii Ninidze, like Audrey Hepburn, fate sent many hardships. But she is sure that, having survived them, she managed to get rid of something bad for her children and grandchildren. The world she perceives gratefully and joyfully. She speaks very warmly and respectfully of the people with whom she spent her life. She believes that ballet helped her a lot by disciplining and educating her willpower. When asked how she looks so good, she says, “I just try not to be angry or jealous.”