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Âshik

1920’s, Central Anatolia on its first years of Republic… Lost his sight at very early ages, Veysel is dreaming about being a successful “âshik” one day. He loves the most beautiful girl of the village, the girl that he can only pick up the scent off, Esma. Her family forces them to marry in return of a large bride price. Forced marriage turned out to be a real suffering for her. And Veysel fails to notice the forbidden love between her and their servant Mehmet. One day Esma runs away with Mehmet.

After months, for the first time in his life, Veysel leaves the village and begins his road which transformed him into “Ashik Veysel” with his violinist friend Kasim. He was hoping to find Esma but Kasim was determined to restore harmony between him and his baglama and make money by playing and singing. However as being a deserter, Kasim runs away after encountering gendarmes. Blind Veysel was obliged to move forward alone. He falls in a well hole and waits to be saved for days. In there, Blind Veysel finally achieves to sing his own and very first ballad. While seeking for Esma on this path of love, he finds “true love”, the “Divine One” and finally becomes Ashik Veysel.

By hitting the road with an enormous pain of love, Veysel matures himself with sorrow and finds “divine love” and at last transforms himself into the “folk poet” Ashik Veysel. “Ashik”, which also means “lover” in Turkish language, brings the “folk poet” tradition to light, a genuine Anatolian cultural memory, through the true life story of globally known master Ashik Veysel. In this very first movie of Bilal Babaoglu, Sufism and music reunite with sorrow and become a universal power free of language, religion, race or ethnicity.

  • Bilal Babaoğlu
    Director
    Yuva
  • Bilal Babaoğlu
    Writer
    Kurşun Yarası, Sil Baştan, Aşka Sürgün, Erkekler Ağlamaz, Genco, Asi, Kasaba, Huzur Sokağı, Kertenkele
  • Bilal Babaoğlu
    Producer
  • Emirhan Kartal
    Key Cast
  • Meltem Methiye Miraloğlu
    Key Cast
  • Uğur Aslan
    Key Cast
  • Yeliz Şatıroğlu
    Key Cast
  • Hülya Şen
    Key Cast
  • Ahmet Bilgin
    Key Cast
  • Faruk Karaçay
    Key Cast
  • Mahmut Gökköz
    Key Cast
  • Taner Cindoruk
    Key Cast
  • Yılmaz Şerif
    Key Cast
  • İmren Şengel
    Key Cast
  • Mehmet Tekkanat
    Key Cast
  • Mehmet Atilay
    Key Cast
  • İsmail Dündar
    Key Cast
  • Sibel Miraloğlu
    Key Cast
  • Didem Ayberkin
    Associate Producer
    Standing Man
  • Taner Tokgöz
    Director of Photography
  • Özgür Duman
    Art Director
  • Miray Yoğurtçu Özçelik
    Costume
  • Fatma Usta
    Costume
  • Oğultan Güler
    Editing
  • Mehmet Atan
    Editing
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Âşık
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Periodical Drama, Love, Biopic, Music, Tradition, Romantic
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 29 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 11, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    189,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Turkey
  • Country of Filming:
    Turkey
  • Language:
    Turkish
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Bilal Babaoğlu

Role: Writer, Director, Producer
Sex: Male
Age: 40
Residency: Turkey
Phone: +905354581937
Email: bilalbaboglu@gmail.com

Born in 1976 in Samsun, Turkey, Bilal is married with one daughter. He graduated from Istanbul University, Journalism Department on 2001. Between years 1997-2002 he worked as a reporter and photo-journalist for several newspapers and publications. Then he worked as a photography instructor and press consultant. He started to work as a scriptwriter in 2004 and took in charge of scripts of various TV series such as Kurşun Yarası, Sil Baştan, Aşka Sürgün, Erkekler Ağlamaz, Genco, Asi, Kasaba. When he found the best fitting story for himself, he stepped out for his very first film project as a director and he did get a grant from The Ministry of Culture with his film “Âshik”. He is still a member of Screenwriters’ Association of Turkey and Script and Dialogue Writer Authors Guild of Turkey.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Rumi summarizes his life as “The result of my life is no more than three words: I was raw, I became cooked, I was burnt.”. I have been writing scripts for years. I was always interested in Eastern literature. By the words of Rumi, when I was “burnt”, have learnt about Veysel’s story of reaching “divine love from carnal love”, I have excitedly realized that it was a universal philosophy of love that I could work on in my first movie.

Veysel was a child who started playing baglama after he loses his sight at the age of eight. I believe that the secret behind the transformation of Blind Veysel into Ashik Veysel is his unrequited love. I think, what made Veysel a world famous Ashik is his long and narrow road cooked him when he was raw and burned him by singing his first and very own ballad called “Long Narrow Road”. I have a strong belief that, the eye of heart of this little blind man is the most pure and idyll proposition of love from which universally everyone should take a lesson from.

During this unrequited love story revealing the path of love of Blind Veysel becoming “Ashik Veysel”, regarding the audience I pursue an ambitious goal of questioning what real love is and experiencing the philosophy behind Sufism in an artistic point of view.
Notes on key terms:
*"The baglama" is a stringed musical instrument shared by various cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central Asia regions.
*"Ashik" is a mystic bard, balladeer, or troubadour who accompanied his song—be it a hikaye (Persian: dastan, a traditional epic or a romantic tale) or a shorter original composition—with a long necked lute (saz, baglama). Also means “lover” in Turkish language.