Alexander Bashirov is, on the one hand, a talented Russian actor and director, and on the other, an extremely controversial person. The personal life of Alexander Bashirov is filled with various antics and scandals. Provocative photos of the actor often appear in the press, which become a reason for discussion on social networks. Bashirov loves to shock the public and often violates the rules of behavior in society. All sorts of myths and legends are made about him, some of which turn out to be true. For example, rumors that Alexander Bashirov’s first wife was an American were confirmed.
The actor has both devoted fans of his talent and those who consider Alexander a grimacing mediocrity. Bashirov’s great success in cinema is considered to be his participation in the famous TV series “The Master and Margarita”, in which he became the legendary cat Behemoth.
Still from the film “The Master and Margarita”
The best directors of Russian cinema invited him to their films - Alexey Balabanov, Karen Shakhnazarov, Nikolai Dostal, Alexey German, Sergei Bodrov Jr., Sergei Solovyov and many others, but Bashirov was rarely trusted with the main roles.
Life before cinema. Biography
Family of Alexander Bashirov
The future actor was born on September 24, 1955 in the taiga region - the village of Sogom, not far from Khanty-Mansiysk. Sasha grew up without a father, who abandoned his family when his son was still very young. Then no one even imagined that the boy could become an actor. He was raised by his Tatar mother, and practically never saw his Khant father.
Sasha and his mother lived with their grandfather, a one-armed invalid and anti-Soviet. Bashirov later said that the old man had his own life and political principles, which did not completely coincide with the party’s course. Sasha’s grandfather was very fond of fishing, where he sat all day long and did not work anywhere. The entire family of three was fed by Bashirov’s mother, who was a postman.
Early years
The childhood of the future actor was marked by hooliganism. As a third grader, Sasha started smoking.
Since the mother had no time to look after her son, he lived at his own discretion, which affected his unsatisfactory behavior at school.
How does coffee affect potency?
Doctors and scientists do not have a consensus on this matter. Thus, Brazilian researchers consider it a natural aphrodisiac that stimulates male sexual activity by stimulating the nervous system. And their British colleagues claim that coffee contains plant analogues of female sex hormones, which reduce potency in men.
One can argue for a long time about how coffee affects potency, but pundits agree on one thing: it is necessary to drink coffee in very moderate doses. Its excess:
- Wears out the nervous system, forcing it to work constantly non-stop;
- Loads the heart and blood vessels;
- May cause stomach diseases (gastritis, ulcers);
- Provokes the development of hypertension;
- It washes away calcium due to the diuretic effect of the drink.
All this directly or indirectly affects a man’s potency. A good erection is impossible for a person who constantly lives at the limit of his capabilities. The maximum dose is no more than 200 ml of natural coffee per day.
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The boy loved to draw and devoted a lot of time to this hobby, but his artistic abilities did not result in anything more.
Vocational school
In 1972, the young man left the Tyumen region. The personal life of Alexander Bashirov made the first serious turn towards future success.
In the photo: Alexander Bashirov in his youth
He ended up in Leningrad, where he became a student at a vocational school, where he mastered the profession of a tiler. After graduating from school, he began working at the Vyborg cement plant.
Army
In 1981, the future actor ended up in the army. The military biography of Alexander Bashirov is connected with Transbaikalia, where he ended up in a tank division.
Since the guy was a good drawer, he was appointed an artist at the army club. He later said that he once received an order to create a portrait of Brezhnev, with a tank helmet on his head. Bashirov completed the task, but after placing the portrait on the club, Leonid Ilyich gave a long life.
VGIK
Journalists sometimes ask the actor about the origins of his acting. Bashirov replies that he wants to subjugate people and sometimes he succeeds. Alexander also calls himself a descendant of the Golden Horde khans.
After leaving the army, Bashirov became a student of the directing department at VGIK. His teacher was Igor Talankin, with whom Alexander studied for two years, after which Anatoly Vasiliev took him in.
The personal life of Alexander Bashirov at this time was stormy. In addition, he already knew how to shock the public. In many ways, his departure from Talankin is connected precisely with this.
When students presented their sketches to the VGIK commission, Bashirov “became famous” in the image of the Devil, who appeared to Faust not quite in his usual form. Alexander went on stage dressed in a robe over his naked body. As soon as Bashirov found himself under the watchful gaze of the commission consisting of Inna Makarova, Irina Skobtseva and Sergei Bondarchuk himself, he threw off his robe and, in what his mother gave birth, revealed himself to the masters of Soviet cinema. After a huge scandal about this, the brawler found himself on the course of Anatoly Vasilyev, who was more loyal to such antics.
America
After graduating from VGIK, Alexander Bashirov’s personal life again took a sharp turn. He ended up in New York with his first wife, a US citizen.
In the photo: Bashirov with his first wife
There, the certified Soviet director entered the Berghof Studio, headed by Lawrence Arancio. At one time, she gave impetus to the careers of Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, Al Pacino and other stars of world cinema.
But the time came, and Alexander Bashirov’s wife demanded a divorce from him, which ended his career in America without even beginning.
Creative biography of Alexander Bashirov
Cult films of the 80s
Bashirov played his first episodic role in the dramatic film “Alien, White and Pockmarked,” which was directed by Sergei Solovyov. In 1986, the film was nominated for an Oscar in the category “Best Foreign Language Film.”
Still from the film “Alien White and Pockmarked”
The biography of Alexander Bashirov in cinema continued in the cult film “ASSA”. Here the actor appeared before the audience in the image of the eccentric fake Major Babakin. The famous speech dedicated to Yuri Gagarin in the film was invented by Bashirov right on the set.
Alexander Bashirov in the film "ASSA"
In 1988, the thriller “Needle” with Viktor Tsoi in the title role was released on the screens of Soviet cinemas. In this film, the hero of our story became Spartacus, who opposes Moreau.
In the photo: Bashirov in “Igla”
After this picture, the actor often appeared on screen in negative images.
New time
In the 90s, Bashirov became the founder and artistic director of Deboshirfilm. At his studio, he also taught directing and acting.
In addition, Alexander became the organizer of the festival of the same name, which is still held annually in the northern capital of Russia.
In 2001, the black comedy Down House premiered, in which the actor was entrusted with the role of Ferdyshchenko. In 2005, Alexander Bashirov’s film biography was supplemented by the series “The Master and Margarita”, in which he became the famous cat Behemoth.
Bashirov in the film “Cargo 200”
Alexey Balabanov cast the actor as an alcoholic in his scandalous film “Cargo 200.” It is worth noting that Alexander Bashirov is offered the main roles in films extremely rarely, but the episodes in his performance are always remembered by the audience.
Coffee Talk
Relevant for the platform:
You don't need to be a great detective to notice that the authors of the visual novel
Coffee Talk were guided in their work by VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action . But if the game from Sukeban Games invited us to try on a bartender's uniform, then in the new product from the Indonesian studio Toge Productions we will have to prepare only soft drinks. As a barista, we will listen to other people's stories and slightly influence what happens, serving customers all kinds of variations of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. At first glance, it seems as if Coffee Talk is the same VA-11 Hall-A , just the menu for visitors is slightly different. However, in reality there are much more differences between the games. You could even say that the developers from Toge Productions took into account some of the rough edges of “Valhalla” and tried to get rid of them in their novel. Let's figure out whether they succeeded or not.
My blueberry nights
From the introductory video we learn that the game takes place in Seattle. Which, however, is not surprising: where else, if not in the homeland of Starbucks, can a barista simulator be created. It is not a fact, however, that there is also a famous chain of coffee shops in the world of the game. Despite the fact that the Space Needle looms recognizably against the cityscape, and the characters every now and then mention things familiar to us (for example, Sting's song Englishman In New York), Coffee Talk differs from ours at least in that it is side by side with Vampires, werewolves, succubi, mermaids and other fantasy creatures live there as ordinary people.
Once upon a time there was a war between the races, but now it’s 2020 and, instead of fighting, elves found startups, dwarves created automobile empires, and orcs sat intently at their computers. Well, from time to time they go to a small coffee shop called Coffee Talk. The establishment has its own specifics - it opens only at night. Perhaps this is a nod to the fact that it was once a bar.
When writing a review of Coffee Talk, it is very difficult to resist saying “just like in VA-11 Hall-A ”. So, in both games the narrative is divided into days, but, unlike the novel by Sukeban Games , Coffee Talk has a convenient calendar from which you can return to any shift you have completed. Before the start of a new working day, we are shown the front page of a local newspaper, from the headlines of which we roughly understand what is happening behind the walls of the coffee shop. However, we still get the bulk of our information about the world by observing visitors.
One of the regulars of the establishment is green-haired Freya. A girl is trying to write her own novel and comes to a coffee shop for inspiration. It also looks very likely that Freya’s appearance is a reference to the main character of the science fiction comics Aphrodite IX.
Coffee and Cigarettes
The barista at Coffee Talk is first and foremost a listener who occasionally intervenes in other people's dialogues.
We don't even know what he looks like, and we are free to give him any name. From time to time, coffee shop visitors place orders that we must accurately fulfill. However, if the player makes a mistake, nothing bad will happen: the story will still continue, the client will just be a little indignant. Just for fun, in the second playthrough I tried to pretend to be a clueless barista, but in the end I still got the same slides. Almost all orders are quite simple and specific, but sometimes coffee shop visitors ask for something unusual and encourage experimentation. Most of the drinks in Coffee Talk are based on real-life ones, and here the player’s life experience will come in handy: after all, the more you know about tea, coffee and hot chocolate, the easier it will be for you to please visitors.
By serving the right drinks at the right time, baristas improve relationships with customers. The stronger the friendship, the more information about the character is available in his profile.
The drinks consist of only three ingredients, each of which affects the taste. Honey makes the drink sweeter, ginger adds bitterness and warmth, and mint refreshes. It is important, however, not only what you mix, but also in what order you do it. For example, to make a drink called Lemony Snippet, you need to add honey and lemon to milk. But if you swap the last two ingredients, you’ll just get lemon-honey milk, which won’t even be on the list of recipes.
All unusual recipes are saved in your smartphone (where you can switch to unobtrusive lo-fi music, read Freya’s short stories and view profiles of regulars) and are revealed gradually, through trial and error - this is exactly what I was missing in VA-11 Hall -A. On the issue of mistakes: if you see that coffee improvisation has gone in the wrong direction, then the drink can be thrown away and prepared again, and so on up to five times per shift.
You can also train and unlock recipes in a special endless mode. It is here that you begin to realize that the process of guessing the desired order of ingredients is tedious, especially when there are very few drinks left before opening the entire list. On the other hand, the game doesn’t force you to do this: a complete collection of recipes is only needed in Challenge Mode, another additional mode where you need to prepare orders with a time limit.
Interestingly, money is not involved in the gameplay. It is said that the price for all drinks is the same, while there are no fines for mistakes, the barista does not have to pay rent and buy little things that please the soul that would increase concentration. The latter, by and large, is not needed: the visitor’s desire is already written on the drink preparation screen.
Some drinks can be decorated with latte art. It’s not necessary to do this, but the process itself is addictive and perfectly immerses you in all this coffee surroundings.
What do elves talk about?
Although the characters in the game are fantastic creatures of all stripes, the problems they share over a cup of coffee are very ordinary and mundane.
For example, we have a father who is very worried about his daughter becoming independent and popular; an interracial couple whose parents are against marriage; a talented writer who loves to procrastinate. All the stories are quite simple: Coffee Talk does not dig deep, but simply outlines what problems the characters face. Thus, a local game developer suffers from workaholism and does not understand that sometimes it is worth taking a vacation, and a former war veteran had difficulties with further employment. The fantasy world also has illegal immigration, viral epidemics and inadequate fans of show business stars. But all this is mentioned in passing, without obsessive poking and constant prodding.
The only non-trivial story arc can be called the story of Neil, a mysterious alien who arrived on Earth to “romance” someone and leave offspring.
In
Coffee Talk, player intervention in character dialogue and story progression is minimal, even less than in VA-11 Hall-A . Again, I would like to have more control over how the barista reacts to certain statements from customers, but Toge Productions considered it much more important to simply show us a snapshot of the life of a small coffee shop.
And the authors succeeded quite well. All conversations seem lively and unforced, the characters joke and tease each other every now and then, so it’s difficult not to smile while reading their dialogues. Unfortunately, the game does not yet have localization into Russian, but, as I understand it, it’s a matter of time - the developers plan to add it. As for the visual design of the game, it will undoubtedly delight everyone who has a weakness for pixel art. The coffee shop interior, visitors and interface look charming. There aren't a lot of animations in the game, but the ones that are there are done well (I especially like how the process of creating drinks is shown). Plus, all clients eloquently express emotions with their faces.
One counter can accommodate up to four visitors. The more people there are (elves, vampires, mermaids), the more fun and dynamic the conversation is usually.
***
Coffee Talk, with a stretch, can be called a barista simulator - after all, you have to listen to other people’s revelations in the game much more often than making coffee.
The emphasis is completely shifted from the main character to the NPC, and even if the stories of visitors do not amaze with their depth, the characters still turned out to be bright and memorable, and it is entertaining to watch how everything is resolved for them. In the novel from Toge Productions , on the one hand, there is very little pure gameplay, on the other, there are additional modes in which you can experiment with drinks. Coffee Talk values the player’s time - here you can save at any time, load any day of the calendar, and in a separate tab they allow you to read all the conversations for the shift if you accidentally missed some remarks.
Pros: colorful characters; pleasant visual and sound design; the ability to discover new drinks yourself and save at any time.
Cons: little interactivity and minimal involvement of the player in the course of the story, which itself is not particularly well-developed.
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Personal life of Alexander Bashirov
American wife
When Bashirov was a student at VGIK, he met an American woman, Sarah Wendy Newtony, who married him and took him to the USA. There the couple had a boy, who was named Christopher. Since the characters of the husband and wife were completely different, they divorced after some time. Alexander Bashirov’s son now works as an ecologist.
Russian wife of Alexander Bashirov
Alexander Bashirov’s personal life quickly improved after returning from America. His new wife was the lead singer of the musical group “Hummingbird” Inna Volkova.
In the photo: Alexander Bashirov with his second wife Inna Volkova
Alexander Bashirov’s wife played the role of a singer in his film “The Iron Heel of the Oligarchy.” In 1993, she gave birth to a girl, Masha, from the actor.
Bashirov's daughter Alexandra
The daughter of Alexander Bashirov is a student at the directing department of VGIK.
