In Naberezhnye Chelny restarted filming of sports drama of NTV-channel “Master” about a legendary KAMAZ-master team, best drivers in the sports truck category. Restart of the filming process began with truly special event: World-class athlete, driver of KAMAZ-master team Dmitry Sotnikov taught an off-road driving master-class. The main heroes of multi-episode picture had an exclusive opportunity to drive a professional truck together with the famous racer and feel as real rally-raid contestants.
Anatoly Bely, as the team leader Kuznetsov: “Of course, it is one the strongest feelings! We drove together with Igor Petrenko: first there were three holes of the first category, then two more holes of the second category and a springboard, but there were no holes of the third category. It shook us up well twice and in the end we were jumping over a springboard – it is something unrenderable! A lifetime experience! We went off together with Igor, looked at each other and said almost synchronically: “I can hardly understand how they drive THAT WAY 500 km, how?” I just can’t get my head around it, as real overloads happen on the track, which require a definite attention. They are real heroes! It is pleasant that the guys from the team help us all the time – Andrey Karginov, Dmitry Sotnikov, Airat Mardeev. For the shooting period, dare I say, we have become friends. They tell us all the time how we should behave in some specific situations, how to behave in case of force majeure, explain some details – all that gives truth in the picture. In some details we come closer to life, so that competent people would watch and say: “It is the same in real life”.
Aristarkh Venes, as a driver Maksim Eremin Jr.: “We certainly don’t drive KAMAZ every shift, but I still cherish hopes to persuade producers to give a chance to drive at least five meters, at least start to move, feel this moment. Because this is an incredible feeling. I caught drivers – Dmitry Sotnikov, Anton Shibalov - on a lot of videos in my phone – especially the ones, where they work with hands. The fact that the truck can go as on the ice-rink, defies my imagination. I can’t say that I am full with it, especially in the context of such trucks, because it is just impossible”.
Makar Zaporozhsky, as a driver Sergei Belikov: “Things, that seem incredible for us and that we can hardly imagine, for the real drivers are simple and clear. For example, how can you drive for hours in such trucks, disassemble them by screws, control everything, feel every gram of this eight-ton truck, catch every deviation and take into account every degree of turn. And if for us it is a complex organism, for them it is like cooking eggs. And there are no efforts in what they are doing - this is their daily work. I am amazed at the way the drivers talk to each other - I just can't tear myself away. And also a joy they are doing this: here you are in this iron box, rushing along a narrow sand path at a speed of 100 kmh, and each time you pass literally a meter from the tree - and you are scared, but they are not, because they like what they do. That is the whole thrill."
As a reminder, the plot of the series is fictional, but has references to real stories from the life of the team, and tells about a change of generation in the crew, when after many years of victories, rookies and veterans will have to create a new efficient team.
According to the plot, ex-driver of KAMAZ-master racing team Denis Sazonov (Anton Vasilyev) after a 12-year break and failures on all life fronts wants to return to his native team. But it turns out difficult: having become the youngest world champion in the rally-raid history in the old days, he was fired for violation of the team’s ethics. Denis wants to return self-respect and participation in “the big deal” and win a rally-raid again. But nobody awaits him in the team. Deputy director of the team Eremin (Igor Petrenko) doesn’t want to give him a chance, as he thinks that Denis violated team’s rules. Sazonov gets hired as a cleaner, starting the whole way “to the wheel” from the very beginning. But here again he is in for an unpleasant surprise: he meets his ex-wife Zhenya (Linda Lapin’sh), who plans to take a co-driver’s seat and become the first woman-driver in the man’s team.
At the last Dakar KAMAZ-master took only one place on the podium. Although it looks like a success, the team leader Kuznetsov (Anatoly Bely) knows that this is not so. Moreover, in the new season they will have a more serious struggle: in addition to their traditional rivals - the French, Germans and Czechs - a new team "Cron Racing" will enter the competition. And without fundamental changes, KAMAZ will predictably slide back. Kuznetsov takes a risk and drastically changes the team composition, taking the "unbeaten" drivers Maksim Eremin junior (Aristarkh Venes) and Nail Abdullin (Nikita Pavlenko).
The project is produced by the company Art Pictures Vision with support of KAMAZ-master sports team and the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov.
Production: Art Pictures Vision with support of KAMAZ-master sports team
Year of production: 2020
Number of series: 8
Genre: sports drama
General producers: Fedor Bondarchuk, Tumur Weinstein, Dmutry Tabarchuk, Vladimir Chagin
Producers: Vadim Ostrovsky, Aleksandr Rubin,
Executive producers: Aleksey Blazhnov, Maksim Leshenko
Director: Stepan Korshunov
Director of photography: Vyacheslav Lisnevsky
Artistic Director: Denis Bayer
Costume Director: Elena Medvedko
Makeup Artist: Yulia Sobinova
Script writers: Shaban Muslimov, Nina Shulikova, Andrey Galanov, Andrey Zolotarev, Stanislav Berestovoy
The cast: Anatoly Bely, Igor Petrenko, Anton Vasilyev, Makar Zaporozhsky, Linda Lapin’sh, Aristarkh Venes, Nikita Pavlenko, Sergei Shakurov, Angelina Poplavskaya, Ingrid Olerinskaya, Oleg Philipchik and others.
Dear journalists! For additional information please refer to PR-department of NTV-channel: +7 (495) 287-71-93, pressa@ntv.ru
