Интервюто в гръцко списание с Мурат
Murat Yildirim - The super star of the country next door
The face of Murat Yildirim is obviously well-known. He is Savas, from the Turkish soap-opera "Love and Punishment", which had great success in our country. Nina-Maria Paschalidou met him in Istanbul and had a very interesting conversation with him.
We haven't realised how this tv series came into our lives. To be honest, this year, we could even catch up with them... With titles like Kismet, Desire(Ask i-memnu), One million and one nights(Binbir Gece) they were all over the Greek tv channels, showing us a different Turkish reality. We have seen only a small part of this phenomenon: every year 150 Turkish soap-operas are filmed and you can watch them in 50 countries. The actors are famous in the Balkans and the Middle East. The main stories of the Turkish dramas -love, hate, women who struggle being next to their husband, family fortunes, vendettas, honour issues- touch a lot of people. Through these, Turkey is telling a modern fairy-tale, which brings this country between East and West.
Because of this "invasion", I met Murat Yildirim, Savas of Love and Punishment, a little while after his daily exercise in a luxurious gym in Istanbul. The rebellious Demir of "Asi", the powerful Savas who faces the tradition, is one of the most popular actors in Turkey and not only - women wait in lines to see him, when he visits Dubai or Sofia.
"I think, women love a hero like Savas, cause he is familiar with the tradition and the modern reality and because he respects women and he's a gentleman", the sweaty Murat told me.In addition, with his answers he explained to me what it means to be and actor in a country, which wants an international leading position.
-Is it easy for someone to become an actor, in Turkey?
I started like that: I went to the university to become an engineer, then I got into the theater, I started with school plays, not professionally and then they gave me roles in television and the movies. By that time, there was an acme in arts - there was space for new actors, many scripts, money and will. A minister had made this exact comment:"When I visit a country, our meetings are scheduled according to the hour of a Turkish series on television. They love them...".
-In Greece, you are famous as Savas, from Love and Punishment.
In that tv series, I'm Savas, the son of a powerful family who faces the tradition when his father and brother die. He has to follow the custom and get married with his brother's widow. This tv series exposes the dark side of Turkey and the multiple problems in the Turkish families.
- Why do you think this tv series was a success in the Arabic countries?
The tv series are very popular in Arabic countries cause these countries are very similar with Turkey. Turkish women have many things in common with the women in Middle East or North Africa. On the other hand, Love and Punishment was a succes in the Balkan countries -as Bulgaria and Greece. Maybe, that's because people were bored of the latin telenovelas and they wanted something more close to them, more familiar. Many Turkish tv series will be shown in Latin America, this year, too. These Latin telenovelas and the Turkish soap-operas display a dreamy world. Obviously, many women seek in these tv series a way out of the routine, they're looking for standars to help them find a solution in their real problems.
-Have you ever visited countries of the Middle East?
Yes, I've been to Dubai and Syria, and there was great enthusiasm. Honestly, I haven't realised that I was so famous, there. They invited me in tv shows, they faced me as a standard for men. As a Turkish guy, I was very proud for being a standard to those people. There's always an underlying reason for all these things: in the Turkish tv series, men are familiar with the tradition and the modern reality, they are kind and they respect their women, they understand them. In the Middle East, there are still men, who are married with two wives. Also, the Turkish tv characters are romantic and women like that.
- Do you think that these soap-operas can change even a little the way that women live in these societies?
I believe that the Arabic viewers saw the Turkish dramas in two ways: as a fairy tale but also, as a reflection of another society, close to theirs. The Turkish dramas are different from the Mexican or the American ones, cause we are Muslims. When they see a man being kind with his wife in an Islamic family and a woman acting with delicacy in the house, they think "why is this not happening in our society, too?"
-Do the Turkish dramas have the same effect in the Turkish society?
People who love these dramas use them in order to solve somehow their daily problems and be encouraged for doing or not doing something. Personally, I think that the main heroes and heroines of these dramas are useful cause they are an example for the people who can't find it around them. Of course, I talk about the women who haven't go to school, who haven't been educated, for those who face unemployment so they stay at home, much more that you see in the tv series. Only one to four women is working- the rest of them stay at home.
-Is there competition between the actors, in Turkey?
Well, there isn't such thing here. Only in its positive way. We are friends, we are trying to do our work as good as possible and we claim our rights as actors. It's extremely difficult to be an actor, in Turkey. We don't earn money when a tv series is shown abroad, our contract is only about Turkey. In addition, we work for hours, for 90' daily episodes. Reputation is good but we all are in the same arena. We claim the same rights as working actors.
So, is Turkey a country-example for those countries in Middle East and North Africa?
I don't know if that's true. I'm not sure. Obviously, the Turkish dramas are for these countries what the American tv-series were for us, 20 years ago ("Dallas" and "Dynasty"). In these countries now, they are fighting for political and social issues, so the Turkish heroines, who are Muslims but with some elements of modernity, might be examples for these women, in the future.
-Some people talk about expansive cultural policy of Turkey, through these tv-series. Do you think it's true?
Turkey is widely appreciated by the countries of Middle East for its political thesis about Palestine, Israel and new movements in these countries. Diplomacy has a great role. When people like a country and a tv-series is filmed there, they will probably watch it... of course the story has to be interesting, too.
-How do the women react when they see you?
They tell me that they love me and that's cute. They also, tell me what to do in the tv-series, which decision to make, how to react. They approach me only for two minutes, but they act as if they know me for years. If you think about it, they actually do... for them I'm Savas, I'm Demir...
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Murat Yildirim - The super star of the country next door
The face of Murat Yildirim is obviously well-known. He is Savas, from the Turkish soap-opera "Love and Punishment", which had great success in our country. Nina-Maria Paschalidou met him in Istanbul and had a very interesting conversation with him.
We haven't realised how this tv series came into our lives. To be honest, this year, we could even catch up with them... With titles like Kismet, Desire(Ask i-memnu), One million and one nights(Binbir Gece) they were all over the Greek tv channels, showing us a different Turkish reality. We have seen only a small part of this phenomenon: every year 150 Turkish soap-operas are filmed and you can watch them in 50 countries. The actors are famous in the Balkans and the Middle East. The main stories of the Turkish dramas -love, hate, women who struggle being next to their husband, family fortunes, vendettas, honour issues- touch a lot of people. Through these, Turkey is telling a modern fairy-tale, which brings this country between East and West.
Because of this "invasion", I met Murat Yildirim, Savas of Love and Punishment, a little while after his daily exercise in a luxurious gym in Istanbul. The rebellious Demir of "Asi", the powerful Savas who faces the tradition, is one of the most popular actors in Turkey and not only - women wait in lines to see him, when he visits Dubai or Sofia.
"I think, women love a hero like Savas, cause he is familiar with the tradition and the modern reality and because he respects women and he's a gentleman", the sweaty Murat told me.In addition, with his answers he explained to me what it means to be and actor in a country, which wants an international leading position.
-Is it easy for someone to become an actor, in Turkey?
I started like that: I went to the university to become an engineer, then I got into the theater, I started with school plays, not professionally and then they gave me roles in television and the movies. By that time, there was an acme in arts - there was space for new actors, many scripts, money and will. A minister had made this exact comment:"When I visit a country, our meetings are scheduled according to the hour of a Turkish series on television. They love them...".
-In Greece, you are famous as Savas, from Love and Punishment.
In that tv series, I'm Savas, the son of a powerful family who faces the tradition when his father and brother die. He has to follow the custom and get married with his brother's widow. This tv series exposes the dark side of Turkey and the multiple problems in the Turkish families.
- Why do you think this tv series was a success in the Arabic countries?
The tv series are very popular in Arabic countries cause these countries are very similar with Turkey. Turkish women have many things in common with the women in Middle East or North Africa. On the other hand, Love and Punishment was a succes in the Balkan countries -as Bulgaria and Greece. Maybe, that's because people were bored of the latin telenovelas and they wanted something more close to them, more familiar. Many Turkish tv series will be shown in Latin America, this year, too. These Latin telenovelas and the Turkish soap-operas display a dreamy world. Obviously, many women seek in these tv series a way out of the routine, they're looking for standars to help them find a solution in their real problems.
-Have you ever visited countries of the Middle East?
Yes, I've been to Dubai and Syria, and there was great enthusiasm. Honestly, I haven't realised that I was so famous, there. They invited me in tv shows, they faced me as a standard for men. As a Turkish guy, I was very proud for being a standard to those people. There's always an underlying reason for all these things: in the Turkish tv series, men are familiar with the tradition and the modern reality, they are kind and they respect their women, they understand them. In the Middle East, there are still men, who are married with two wives. Also, the Turkish tv characters are romantic and women like that.
- Do you think that these soap-operas can change even a little the way that women live in these societies?
I believe that the Arabic viewers saw the Turkish dramas in two ways: as a fairy tale but also, as a reflection of another society, close to theirs. The Turkish dramas are different from the Mexican or the American ones, cause we are Muslims. When they see a man being kind with his wife in an Islamic family and a woman acting with delicacy in the house, they think "why is this not happening in our society, too?"
-Do the Turkish dramas have the same effect in the Turkish society?
People who love these dramas use them in order to solve somehow their daily problems and be encouraged for doing or not doing something. Personally, I think that the main heroes and heroines of these dramas are useful cause they are an example for the people who can't find it around them. Of course, I talk about the women who haven't go to school, who haven't been educated, for those who face unemployment so they stay at home, much more that you see in the tv series. Only one to four women is working- the rest of them stay at home.
-Is there competition between the actors, in Turkey?
Well, there isn't such thing here. Only in its positive way. We are friends, we are trying to do our work as good as possible and we claim our rights as actors. It's extremely difficult to be an actor, in Turkey. We don't earn money when a tv series is shown abroad, our contract is only about Turkey. In addition, we work for hours, for 90' daily episodes. Reputation is good but we all are in the same arena. We claim the same rights as working actors.
So, is Turkey a country-example for those countries in Middle East and North Africa?
I don't know if that's true. I'm not sure. Obviously, the Turkish dramas are for these countries what the American tv-series were for us, 20 years ago ("Dallas" and "Dynasty"). In these countries now, they are fighting for political and social issues, so the Turkish heroines, who are Muslims but with some elements of modernity, might be examples for these women, in the future.
-Some people talk about expansive cultural policy of Turkey, through these tv-series. Do you think it's true?
Turkey is widely appreciated by the countries of Middle East for its political thesis about Palestine, Israel and new movements in these countries. Diplomacy has a great role. When people like a country and a tv-series is filmed there, they will probably watch it... of course the story has to be interesting, too.
-How do the women react when they see you?
They tell me that they love me and that's cute. They also, tell me what to do in the tv-series, which decision to make, how to react. They approach me only for two minutes, but they act as if they know me for years. If you think about it, they actually do... for them I'm Savas, I'm Demir...
страхотни гифчета - много от тях са ми любими!
,но виждам ,че вие сте напълнили темата и с информация и със много красоти.
чака ни 100-ната юбилейна тема!
Очите ти гледат ме с радост и в моята обич една, единствена болка от сладост, за нея отдавна копнях. За нея си струва звездите да палиш, да срещаш луна, да бродиш в утро измито от гореста чиста сълза. Избрани ний бяхме с тебе в живота не лек и суров, за тебе да бъдеш потребен, за мен ти да бъдеш любов. 
.Визуално имат някава прилика двете особенно така като е нагримирана и направена Фериде,но като талант ,като сценично присъствие не знам доколко може да си приличат 
Само така