In a conversation with aif.ru, actor Dmitry Kharatyan recalled a controversial moment from 2007 when director Vladimir Menshov reportedly refused to accept an award for the film Bastards. According to Kharatyan, Menshov threw the envelope on the floor, making it clear that he disagreed with the jury’s assessment and believed it was shameful to honor such a film. Kharatyan suggested that Menshov felt the moment was orchestrated and that his personal stance carried more weight than the collective verdict.
Kharatyan also cited Vera Alentova, Menshov’s widow, who allegedly refused to participate in presenting the award to Bastards because the project contradicted Menshov’s own principles. The actor described the situation as part of a larger, troubling narrative surrounding the film’s production and reception, a story he characterized as profoundly unsettling.
As the discussion turned to the script and its origins, Kharatyan mentioned Vladimir Kunin, the screenwriter, who he claimed had firsthand awareness of wartime stories involving orphans sent behind enemy lines to sabotage critical targets. The actor noted a tension between claimed real-life parallels and the film’s fictional framework.
According to Kharatyan, Kunin allegedly asserted that he personally witnessed such stories and that, while fiction may be a writer’s realm, it must not be mistaken for reality. The actor conveyed his frustration with what he saw as a misrepresentation, insisting that the project stood on its own merits and that the creative process should be judged by its outcomes rather than its inspirations.
Earlier, another public figure, Dzhigurda, surfaced in discussions tied to a separate personal controversy, with reports of an affair that sparked attempts to justify actions by directing attention to alleged misconduct by a manager. The narrative around Bastards remained the central thread of the conversation, with Kharatyan emphasizing the emotional and ethical complexities involved in recalling the film’s history. The broader context reflects how disputes over artistic choices, personal principles, and public perception can intertwine, sometimes defining a work’s legacy more than its on-screen content itself.
In reflecting on Bastards and its reception, Kharatyan underscored that artistic production often traverses a fault line between cinema as storytelling and the real-life convictions of its creators. The dialogue he shared points to enduring questions about how a film’s moral stance, the integrity of its creators, and the responsibilities of awards committees intersect. It also highlights how personal loyalties, principled stands, and memory influence the way a project is remembered long after its premiere. The conversations of that period, as recounted by the actor, contribute to an ongoing debate about the ethics of honoring work that stirs controversy and challenges audience expectations, especially when public figures publicly wrestle with the portrayal of history and sacrifice.