Legendary Turkish singer Müslüm Gürses’ life to become film

ISTANBUL

The shooting of the film “Müslüm,” which features the life of legendary Turkish arabesque singer Müslüm Gürses, has started. Actor Timuçin Esen plays the role of Gürses, who died in 2013. 

At a recently held press conference in Istanbul, Gürses’ wife Muhterem Nur highlighted her husband’s importance in her life. 

“We had lived one life together. We had both been devoted to life. We had a very good life but the finale ended badly,” said Nur. 

Stating that her life had not changed since the passing of her husband, Nur said she had still lived the way he would have liked except alone. 

“He will be forgotten one day. He will not survive a hundred years. The cinema industry is changing, too, but I had wanted his film to be produced. I have worked on it and have written a book, which had then been delivered to the producer. His fans love him a lot and have been waiting for this film,” she said. 

Nur said the film features the artist in all stages of his life. “The film shows his life from birth to death. I hope people will like it,” she added.

The film’s co-producer, Mustafa Uslu, said Gürses had had a respected life. 

“He has characteristics no one knows of. These will be portrayed in the film. For example, his doctors had forbidden him to sing, but he had wanted to sing because he had been in love with music. So, he had to create his own style. Turkish people loved this style a lot, so they have been listening to Gürses for years. This is why I am proud to be involved in this project,” said Uslu. 

The co-producer said he has also been a fan of Gürses and has been listening to him since his childhood.

 Uslu said it had been very hard to play the role of Gürses. 

“We had not wanted to liken him to someone else. If we had, it would have been amateur. This is why we have wanted to create a new sound and character. We had not wanted to imitate him. So, we had to work with an actor who had a background in music and sang well. Otherwise, it would have taken at least a year and a half to train the actor. We had crossed paths with Timuçin Esen, who had an album. He had believed in this project, which had been a risky one in my opinion. Because Gürses is a very powerful and great character, he is loved and respected by most people in society. Esen has been working on [this film] for months. He has gone to the United States to take music lessons and has spoken with Gürses’ childhood friends.” 

Uslu said Gürses will also be shown in one of the scenes in the film as the real Gürses and the actor Gürses will meet. 

“Music is universal and Gürses is universal, too. There is a lot we do not know about him. For example, did you know Gürses had gone to Hollywood and had given concerts there? None of us had known about it but he had given concerts to Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Just like the Ray Charles film had been presented to the whole world, we want to present this film to the world as well because Gürses deserves it,” he said. 

Uslu said the love between Gürses and Nur would also be shown in the film. 

“We will portray this century’s love for him behind the red curtain,” he said. 

Nuri Yıldırım, also a co-producer of the film, said Gürses had been one of the great Turks. “As a person who likes reading, I have learned [author] Hakan Günday wrote the film’s script and had decided to be a producer of this film, even though I am involved in the IT sector,” he said. 

Yıldırım said he had started listening to the musician after his album “Sandık.” 

“His life story is a powerful drama. We have surprises for viewers,” he said. 

Yıldırım also added that they are continuing to shoot the film in the southern province of Adana. 

“This has been an extraordinary opportunity for us to know such a great musician. Thanks to Nur, we have seen how someone has dealt with difficulties. It has been a process of a discovery. We are continuing to discover him,” said scriptwriter Günday.

Another scriptwriter, Gürhan Özçiftçi, said Gürses is a relatable character. “We have found something different about him while studying his life. He had a different kind of depth, had suffered pain and had fought with life. Maybe no one has seen his battle in this light. All events in the film are real,” he said. 

The film “Müslüm” is set to be released in September or October this year. Along with Esen, the film stars Zerrin Tekindor, Ayça Bingöl, Erkan Can, Turgut Tunçalp, Taner Ölmez and Güven Kıraç. 

Gürses, widely known as “Müslüm Father,” died at the age of 59 on March 3, 2013, leaving his fans and many memorable songs behind, having lost the battle for his life after nearly four months.