Not Born Beautiful

Not Born Beautiful (Russian: Не родись красивой, romanized: Ne rodis krasivoi) is a telenovela filmed in Russia, directed by Alexander Nazarov and shown from 5 September 2005[1] to 7 July 2006 by the Russian network STS. It is a Russian spin of the Colombian "Yo Soy Betty La Fea" (I'm Betty, the Ugly One) telenovela, which has fostered more than a dozen versions in other countries. The telenovela reached success in Russia and boosted the ratings of the TV network STS.

Not Born Beautiful (Ne Rodis' Krasivoy) (Не Родись Красивой)
GenreTelenovela
Written by
  • Ivan Uragov
  • Elena Bykovskaya
  • Mikhail Sokolov
  • Svetlana Yashin
  • Valentine Shevyakhova
  • Natalia Marfina
  • Svetlana Frichinskaya
  • Viktoria Avdeenko
  • Elena Isayev
Directed byAlexander Nazarov
Starring
Opening themeIf Love Lives In The Heart (Julia Savicheva)
Country of originRussia
Original languageRussian
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes200
Production
Cinematography
  • Vladimir Bykhovsky
  • Valentin Chornovol
  • Igor Horev
  • Olga Livinskaya
Running timeapproximately 45:00
DistributorSony Pictures Television International
Release
Original networkSTS
Original release5 September 2005 (2005-09-05) –
7 July 2006 (2006-07-07)

Nelli Uvarova plays the role of a charming ugly girl, Yekaterina (Katya) Pushkareva. This became a breakout role in Nelli’s career and brought her national love and fame. During the broadcast of the series she became a real star of Russian television. Nelli's American counterpart America Ferrara also became widely known for her portrayal of the namesake of Ugly Betty.

The show attracted viewers who were not in the traditional viewing audience of telenovelas. In fall of 2005, fully one-third of Russian TV viewers, and 58% of Ukraine viewers, were tuning in to watch the show.[1]:209

According to TV's Betty Goes Global: From Telenovela to International Brand, Not Born Beautiful is likely the closest and most faithful of "Yo soy Betty, la fea"'s international adaptations.[1]

And according to its authors, in 2004-6, Russia was "at an apex" of "consumerism and glamour culture", and:

Ne rodis' krasivoy addresse[d] the central cultural conflict of post-Soviet culture: the negotiation between the Russian (Soviet) values and the new corporate bourgeois ones.[1]:209

In all 200 episodes were filmed, many on a one-per-day schedule. The "industrial pace of shooting" matched the industrial setting, Media City's studios in the former Soviet-era Moscow ball-bearing plant, which operated from the 1930s to 1990.[1]:207 This was 31 more episodes than in the Colombian original series.[2]

American TV executive James Kramer and other Americans were involved in bringing "Ugly Betty" to Russia.[3] [4]

Plot

Katya, a plain-looking girl, works as a secretary at the company Zimaletto, a manufacturer of uniforms and wedding dresses.[3] No man has paid attention to her yet, but she doesn't allow her looks to keep her from dreaming about love and happiness.[5]

Opening theme

The theme "If love lives in your heart" / "Esli v serdtse zhivet lyubov", with music and lyrics by Anastasiya Maksimova, performed by Yulia Savicheva became well known. The song, performed by Alsou, received a 2008 Russian MTV award as the first in a medley of nine songs required to be performed by singers or groups other than the original recording artist.[6]

Characters

Main
Actor Role
Nelli Uvarova Yekaterina Pushkareva
Grigory Antipenko Andrey Pavlovich Zhdanov
Artoym Semakin Nikolai Zorkin
Pyotr Krasilov Roman Malinovsky
Olga Lomonosova Kira Voropayeva
Mikhail Zhigalov Valery Pushkarev
Irina Muravyova Yelena Pushareva
Yulia Takshina Vika
Ilya Lubimov Alexander Voropaev
Maria Mashkova Masha, secretary
Anna Dimova Amura Buyo
Raisa Ryazanova Olga Uyutova
Natalya Rizih Sveta
Yulia Kuvarzina Tanya
Irina Sirotinskaya Alexandra Kriventsova
Viktor Dobronrarov Fyodor
Vitaly Egorov Milko Vukanovich
Sergey Bolotaev Sergey Potapkin

Recurring
Actor Role
Dmitri Zenichev Yaroslav Vetrov
Karina Ivanova; Darya Luzina Maryana Pereguda
Alexander Korjenkov Zakhar
Andrei Kuzichev Mikhail Borshyov
Olga Levitina Vasilisa
Olga Ostroumova Margarita Zhdanova
Natalya Riychkova Yuliana Vinogradova
Georgi Taratorkin Pavel Olegovich Zhdanov
Yulia Rutberg Kristina Voropaeva
Mihail Shklovski Victor Tsypin
Oleg Shklovski Georgy Uryadov
Oleg Kuhta Anatoly
Irina Shebeko Valeriya
Mikhail Safronov Alexander Alexeevich
Yevgeny Kosirev Anatoly Ponchev
Victor Cherepanov Ivan Vasilyevich
Pavel Misailov Boris Filin
Sergey Epishev Boris Rulin
Vladimir Yaglych Leonid
Zakhar Ronzhin Radik
Mikhail Khimichev Nikita Minaev
Sergey Oleksyak Shurik
Ola Keyru Anton
Valery Zolotukhin Igor Sergeyevich
Lyudmila Alyokhina Larisa Petrovna
Victor Bunakov Alexey
Victor Ryabov Felix Korsakov, restaurant critic
Alexander Chislov Valeriy Vladimirovich
Alexey Losihin Dmitry Valerievich Sinitckiy
Oleg Maslennikov-Voytov Ronald
Natalya Starikova Nadezhda Tkachuk
Petar Zekavica Hans Kramer
Yulia Vayshnur Anna Aleksandrovna
Yevgeny Kalinin Sergey, bus driver

Interesting Facts
  • The spin-off comedy "UmaNetto" (literally translated as No Brains), was broadcast by STS in 2007

References
  1. Janet McCabe and Kim Akass, ed. (2013). TV's Betty Goes Global: From Telenovela to International Brand. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780857732996.
  2. "Ugly is the New Beautiful: An International Betty-base: "Не Родись Красивой" ["Ne Rodis Krasivoy"] — Russia (2005)".
  3. Nina Porzucki (9 November 2014). "The American who turned Ugly Betty into a Russian". BBC.com's Magazine.
  4. Nina Porzucki (producer) (6 November 2014). "How to make an American sitcom work in Russia". Public Radio International's The World.
  5. "Ne rodis krasivoy (2005–2006): Plot Summary". Retrieved October 24, 2016. (with plot summary credited to RussArt.com)
  6. "MTV Russia Music Awards 2008". IMDB.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.