Turkish Artist Helen Kandemir Discusses New Vision of “Forbidden Love” in Film “Behtar”

Turkish artist Helen Kandemir describes the film “Behtar” as a new vision of the novel “Forbidden Love.” She expected, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, his success in the Arab world.

Said Halim Pasha Palace in the Turkish city of Istanbul hosted, on Wednesday evening, the world premiere of “Behtar,” taken from the famous novel “Forbidden Love” by the late Turkish author Khaled Ziya Uşakli, in the presence of a large number of stars and celebrities of art and media in Turkey and around the world.

The events of the Turkish film take place in the 1920s, with a popular framework about love, infidelity, courage, and failure. It stars Boran Kuzum, Farah Zeynep Abdullah, Helen Kandemir, Osman Sonant, Hande Atayzi, and Nazaket Erden, and is directed by Muhammad Binay and Kaner Alper, with a screenplay by Merv Gontim, and produced by “TAV”, and is shown exclusively in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East via the platform. “Prime Video.”

The author presents the story from a completely different perspective than what was stated in the original novel. She made radical changes in the main characters, replacing the character of Bihtar, the weak girl who surrenders out of fear of society, and ultimately commits suicide after her husband Adnan discovered that she had cheated on him with Bahloul, his brother’s son, with a strong girl who refused to submit to suicide. Despite the betrayal, she showed her strengths and evil in front of her family, and left her home, drawing weapons against those who tried to attack her.

Turkish artist Helen Candemir (Prime Video)

Kandemir says that what attracted her most to participate in the film was “its presentation of the story from the perspective of a Turkish woman,” adding: “I was very surprised by the scenario, and found myself faced with a new vision of the character, other than the one I knew through reading the novel. I found it stronger and braver, and I loved the working environment with all its makers.”

Regarding preparing for the character, remember that “acting is not a rational act like medicine and engineering, but rather requires feelings and senses. I loved the character, put myself in her place, and dealt with her as if I was raising a young child who grows with me every day. I also learned to play the piano and the French language to master the role; Because of the movie, I bought a piano in my house to play,” she said, expressing her happiness with the work uniforms dating back to the 1920s.

While she hopes that the film will achieve great success in the region, just like the original novel when translated into Arabic, she adds: “Any artist hopes that his works will reach audiences in the world. We do not act for the sake of Turkey only, but rather to aspire to other cultures. Success in the Arab region is a beautiful gift for me.”

A scene brings together artist Farah Zeinab Abdullah and artist Boran Kozum (Prime Video)

In this context, American art critic Anton Presinger praises the performance of the film’s heroes and the vision of its directors. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “They broke the stereotypes in filming, and the actors’ performance was convincing, so the spectator did not feel anxious,” commenting on changing the ending of the original novel during the events: “ This ending is the best for the film, as suicide is an escape from life, and the ending must be different from the ending of the novel, as it is universal and everyone knows its story. For me, I do not prefer a bleak ending, nor a settled one.”

It is noteworthy that “Forbidden Love” is one of the most famous Turkish novels in the world. It was written by Khaled Ziya Uşakli between the years 1899 and 1900. It was presented several times as a drama with the same name, and was shown for the first time on television in the seventies.