Gražina Balandytė’s grieving colleagues shared delicate stories: a missed call, an acquaintance and what will remain forever

Algimanto Puipos The movie “Garden of Eden” was one of the last G. Balandytė movies. The famous director remembers the moment he first saw the actress.

“I met Gražina when I was still a student, maybe in eighth or ninth grade. I was a movie lover, so my relatives let me pass by acquaintances to the pavilion, where the filming of” Stairs to Heaven “took place. I sat in the corner and looked, G. Balandytė was also there, I realized that he was a movie star. ”A. Puipa shared his memories of the legendary actress.

Algimantas met G. Balandyte for the next time many years later.

“I had to enter Gražina’s number on the phone. It was next to the phone number of another actress, Gražina Baikštytė. So when she called Baikštyte, Balandytė replied: – Remember A. Puipa.” Then we laughed. “

After a while, the famous director invited G. Balandytė to play in his directed film The Garden of Eden. Algimantas says that at the time, the actress was already much less likely to enter the stage.

“He was already home and he also spent a lot of time with his friends in Palanga.” Delphi Algimantas says. – Those few days of filming were very warm. It was a small piece of paper, she realized, but it was close to her. I remember being in a very nice wig. However, during the filming of a scene, I asked to take off my wig. “

Algimantas says he didn’t see anything scary at the time: The hair under the wig was quite long and, according to the director, it did not yield to the beauty of the wig.

“But on her part, the movement was bold and we filmed a very beautiful and sensitive scene,” says A. Puipa. – Later I called her on her birthday, she thanked me. So our first meeting was as a kid and the last one was on set. “

Actress common name Gražina Baikštytė I learned about the painful loss while visiting Latvia. The woman does not hide the fact that after reading the sad message, he squeezed her heart. However, the interlocutor remembers G. Balandytė with a smile.

“I just read this message. Very sad. In fact, we have been communicating a little less in the past few years. I know she was seriously ill. I recently thought her birthday was approaching, I should call, but unfortunately I did not. And now, what a message ”, G. Baikštytė did not hide his resentment.

“It just came to our attention then. Admittedly, I wouldn’t dare say that we were very close, but of course we communicated. That connection has gone nowhere. I’ve been on vacation with her in Palanga more than once and, otherwise, we called her for no reason, just reminding ourselves. She was a brilliant actress and a very warm man, “she added.

Many people remember G. Balandytė not only as a beauty, but also as a professional master actress. These words are also supported by G. Baikštytė.

“I really liked his sense of humor. She had a great character, looking at everything through the prism of fun. Overall, it was fun interacting with her. Previously, when the Cinema Days took place, we traveled together in Lithuania. The following girl group was formed: G. Balandytė, Vaiva Mainelytė and myself. We spend time together and have a lot of fun. Not even a male company was needed. After all the events, we made more mini presentations for ourselves. She was a very playful woman ”, remembers the interlocutor.

The first encounters with the legendary actress G. Baikštyte took place when her acting career was just beginning.

“It just caught our eye then. I was not an actress at the time, but I was invited to film before the peak of my career. I remember once inviting me to Tallinn, the Estonian film studio, where I went, G. Balandytė and Vytautas Tomkus. We were three Lithuanians. Now I don’t remember what it was like to be a movie, but only V. Tomkus took the movie, and ours with Gražine no. But that was not the point. The point was that it was then that I saw it on First time. We met at the airport and flew together from Vilnius to Tallinn. I already knew her as an actress, I had the immense honor of being next to that person, I admired her very much. For me, she was an actress of extraordinary beauty. really excited because I could be by her side, ”she told Delfi.

“It just caught our eye then. I came to the theater with her. Once, before we got to know each other more closely, I came to see her. I asked the doorman on duty to meet me because I wanted to see the actress G. Balandytė. Gražina later She told this story with a smile. Asked if I remember how I got to her? Then she was still a whole girl, with cash registers, in a school uniform. I don’t know where I got my courage from. But this is how we got to know each other better. It was special. for me for a long time, and then fate brought us together, “added the actress.

Head and director of the Klaipeda Youth Theater Valentinas Masalskis, who worked with G. Balandyte at Kaunas Drama Theater for many years, says that the actress was the soul of the company, always with a smile.

“I worked with her for a long time at the Kaunas drama theater. My first steps were there, this is how Gražina is for me, not only for me, but also for everyone, it was probably a theatrical adventure, a theatrical joke, a theatrical heart, theatrical fun, theatrical surprise, a theatrical surprise, ”he said. V. Masalskis to BNS.

“It was a smile, a company man; all premieres generally ended at his home,” he added.

According to him, the actress G. Balandytė was especially flexible, playful and receptive on stage.

“That is exactly what I remember and it is a great loss for us, but we all went out a little and it is probably natural,” said the theater director.

V. Masalskis also noted that it was always possible to talk to the actress about serious professional problems, among other things, highlighted several of her most memorable roles.

“Biography: acting” her role was enormous (…) I liked her and her cinematographic works: she was very elegant, very photogenic, “V. Masalskis reminded his colleague.

director Aidas Giniotis She distinguishes G. Balandytė as an actress with a special demand for herself, an aristocratic sense of humor.

“I would like to highlight her aristocratic sense of humor, very subtle, very sharp. When communicating with the world, she had what we call the blue blood level. When we rehearsed together, we always had to push ourselves, she had to adjust her language a little and your thoughts to make them more noble, more precise, ”director Aidas Giniotis told BNS.

Recalling G. Balandytė, the director also mentioned his exceptional sense of justice, an easy-to-notice uncertainty feature.

“It was like litmus paper, if there is no falsehood, there is no injustice. He had a very good sense of justice, if not, by looking at Gražina with one eye, you could understand that more needs to be done to work on the solutions, ”said A. Giniotis.

The director Raimundas Banionis, in whose films “Children from the American Hotel” and “My Little Wife” starring G. Balandytė, remembers the actress as an artistic, warm and direct personality.

“The artist is very good, of course, very good, no longer questioned here. Calm, deep, beautiful and passionate. It is not a compliment here, it is a statement of the fact that there was a truly extraordinary personality in the world of our theater and cinema, “R. Bionis told BNS.

“She has always been a very artistic person, very charming, very good, warm and direct. He never responded, with the greatest desire and help, even for small roles, “said the director.

The theater director also spoke about the actress’ exceptional sense of humor. Amber crow, remembers Gražina Balandytė as an extremely charismatic and resourceful personality.

“It just came to our attention then. Theater, performance, party, she has always been the center of everything. With enthusiastic enthusiasm, always with a great sense of humor, very resourceful, in any situation she will find a phrase to make the situation be fun, ”he told BNS.

“She was really charming with her character, her charisma. Always smiling, no matter who is there. Even after the stroke, he kept smiling, joking. It is so unstoppable, restless, even crumbling, “said G. Varnas.

Film and theater actress G. Balandytė died Monday of her illness, she was 83 years old.