Russia has plenty of young actresses and they tend to have common Russian names like Masha and Natasha. But as for Chulpan, there is only one of those.

The young woman in question, Chulpan Khamatova, an actress at the Luna Theatre, owes her uncommon name to the fact that she was born in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan.

" I used to hate my name," she says, "all those boys at school making fun of it, and new acquaintances goggling in surprise and asking me to repeat it, to make sure they got it right - it all drove me to tears and gave me a bunch of complexes. I used to beg my parents to change my first name. In the end I got used to it, and now I'm even glad that I'm not just another Natasha or Olya. People remember my name because it's strange and complicated. Also, my friends invent a lot of cute nicknames for me, such as Chula, Chunya or Chulpakha. And when Aleksandr Mindadze was shooting me in his 'Time of the Dancer', he called me Madame Chu."

Chulpan Khamatova is a real mixture of East and West. She combines a European outlook with traditional Asian values. Audiences know her best of all for two of her characters: Katya from "Time of the Dancer", and Rita from "Land of the Deaf". Katya is a resolute, wilful and courageous young lady, while Rita is soft, vulnerable and forgiving. Chulpan identifies herself more with Katya. At the same time, she says: "A woman should be fragile and somehow vulnerable, at least, she should allow herself to be perceived that way. And in reality she should be intelligent and gifted. Talent in a woman is different than in a man, a talented woman is one who knows how to be a woman at all times."

It is a wonder how the girl from provincial Kazan plucked up the courage to leave her little world behind, move to Moscow, enter the theatrical institute, live in a dormitory, go hungry, and suffer all the privations of student life.

When she was in her second year of study, she met a young man who offered her the chance to advertise a restaurant for... a good meal. All she had to do was arrive with a good-looking companion, sample the dishes and praise them in public. Chulpan happily accepted the offer, glad at the promise of something other than the perennial student diet of potatoes. Her odd name got in the way though: "sorry lady, no deal", the man said when he heard it, and the future actress went back to her potatoes.

Chulpan is already married. She graduated from the theatrical school and moved in with her husband, actor Ivan Volkov. Her mother-in-law, Olga Volkova, is a prominent actress, too. Ivan stars in a comedy show and is often away on tour. When her husband is away, Chulpan tries to get absorbed in her work, but she still misses him. She prefers not to take any crucial decisions in Ivan's absence. It is he who helps her choose the movies she is to work on. He sifts through the piles of scripts that arrive each day for her at the Cinema Union, and select the interesting ones.

Chulpan has an open, trusting look about her, she prefers simple hairstyles and not too much makeup. She avoids bright colours and likes long dresses and classic style. There is something a little conservative and old-fashioned in her character, but that only adds to her charm.

"I envy this "Pepsi generation". I always feel like I'm trying to catch up with it, trying to improve my language and computer skills, for example. I never gave anything much thought when I lived in Kazan with my parents. They were engineers, my elder sister was a medical student, and my younger brother who was still in school. Back then, I just went to an ordinary Soviet school and dreamed of becoming a tram-driver. Now I'm having to study all the time to learn about all these new things.

Chulpan has never been much good at planning ahead and turning the opportunities to her advantage and making the most of her popularity. A few months ago world renowned director Peter Stein, came to Moscow to stage his highly acclaimed Hamlet, and he offered Chulpan the role of Ophelia. Her response came from the wilds of distant Tadjikistan, saying she was working on a movie and could not just abandon the team. That mysterious movie has yet to be finished, and even its director's name is still a secret. As for Peter Stein's Hamlet, the role of Ophelia went to another actress, Elena Zakharova. With a full house every night, the play was a great success and brought Zakharova immense popularity.

Chulpan tends to trust her intuition when it comes to important decisions. She does not think about things for too long. Her main principle in life is that all people are good. It may sound naive, but nevertheless, she still hopes it is true.

"I was pre-programmed with these fundamental virtues; mercy, kind-heartedness. And other people have these inside them too. The only thing is that some people have been left distorted by life, by bad experiences."

At only 22, Chulpan found herself popular last year, after the release of Valerii Todorovskii Jr.'s 'Land of the Deaf'. At the premiere, when asked what she thought of her character in the film, her response was rather unexpected: "What I liked most was working with Dina Korzun, who did a most impressive portrayal of her character, the deaf-mute Yaya."

It was after this film that the offers came flooding in. Chulpan was called on to play mild-mannered, naive and vulnerable girls - exactly like her Rita from 'Land of the Deaf'. She turned down all these offers and then unexpectedly chose 'My lunar daddy' where she was offered the role of a pregnant Asian woman, abandoned by her husband.

"At first, I turned that offer down as well, but the director kept insisting to meet me. When he finally saw me in person, he realised I was too diminutive to fit the character. After that it was me who was insisting on a trial take, just to make sure I really wasn't suitable. Strangely enough, the trial take was good, and I went to Tajikistan for half a year to participate in the shoot."

Chulpan would answer all questions on her future plans with a mysterious smile: "I'm going to have a baby first, and then we'll see." The news of the actress's pregnancy spread like wildfire, and their family friends even began congratulating Ivan Volkov on his would-be offspring. But a few months later Chulpan returned from shooting in Tajikistan, just as slim as usual, and was soon appearing in the Fanta Infanta play staged by her Luna Theatre. In response to all the questions on the whereabouts of the baby, she would just laugh. "It was just a joke, in the film I had to have a child, but as for real life, it's too early for me yet."

These days, most theatre goers cannot afford to buy flowers to give to actors after the performance. Chulpan is always overjoyed then on the rare occasions that she does receive flowers. Her greatest pleasure though, is to perform for children, like in 'Fanta Infanta'.

"The children who go to these shows thank the actors by presenting them with half-eaten apples, sandwiches or chocolate bars. I've come to the conclusion that a half-eaten bun from a child spectator is of no less value than the most splendid bunch of flowers. And when you hear kids laughing and see them happy after your performance, you go back to your dressing room totally at peace with yourself."