In the scene of the abyss I didn’t use a stand in.
Filiz Ahmet, Calfa Nigar from “Muhteşem Yuzyıl” serial (Magnificent Century), in the last part of the serial jumped off a cliff and left the serial. Filiz Ahmet declared that she jumped without a stand in, and, referring to the forbidden love of the character she said „ I wouldn’t have picked flowers from somebody else’s garden, as she did.“
In “Muhteşem Yuzyıl” (Magnificent Century) you played a character that was always in a key point. What kind of character was Nigar?
– A different character. So far I have never played the same type of character. I have acted in almost 30 theatre plays. Even in theatre, a character does not resemble another character. I have never followed a pattern. I have had many roles starting from playing the role of a little girl until playing the role of a prostitute. I am lucky that keeping into account the previous role, they did not say: “let’s give this girl such a role”.
What episodes touched you the most?
-The episodes in which Nigar is looking for her child and lives a secret love story with Ibrahim Paşa.
Which would have been your reaction to what she had lived?
– I, Filiz, would never have picked flowers from somebody else’s garden. I would never live a love story with a married man. I guess that no matter how in loved I were, I would bury that love. I don’t know what I would do, as such a thing never happened to me, and I hope that this will never happen to me. In some moments I agreed with Nigar, in other moments I hated her.
“ Meral Okay wanted me.”
In the final scene, Calfa Nigar jumped off a cliff. How was that experience?
-For me it was an unforgettable experience. I did not use a stand in for this scene. On the bottom of the abyss which was 7 meters deep it was made a balcony of 2 meters. At the beginning the height was scary, but the first jump was a bit difficult, I was scared willy-nilly, it hurt a little but I insisted saying “I am going to jump by myself” and after several jumps I learnt how to jump. It wasn’t difficult for me at the shooting. Then, the shooting of the scene in which I had to fall was a touching experience for me and I experienced interesting feelings.
Are you satisfied with the way in which you left the serial?
-How longer could the story of Nigar after Ibrahim’s death be extended? I knew more or less, that at the end of the third season the story of Nigar would finish. It could have been finished sooner or later. In my opinion it ended when it was supposed to end. It was good, it ended beautifully and I am satisfied.
What meant for you Meral Okay, did you miss her?
-I missed her a lot. As far as I know, and from what she told me, she wanted me very much in the serial. It was created a very beautiful connection between us, as she wrote the character Calfa Nigar for me and I helped her a lot. Of course that her leaving made us all sad, but I was affected the most. I still feel this when I think of it once in a while. I really thank her for having written Nigar for me. I am very happy that I worked with a great team and that I took part in this project written by Mrs. Meral. At least this thing will last in my mind.
“ The woman who is in love has to be that way “
In Turkey people are very connected to serials, they transpose into reality the characters from the serial. What kind of reactions did you receive?
-So far I have not had any negative reaction. There were, indeed, persons who perceived me as Nigar. There were comments, such as “ Haven’t you found someone else to fall in love with? What a pity for you! “In the airport from Macedonia, some women told me “Good for you girl, the woman who is in love has to be that way, you got Ibrahim.“ I become the pride for women in Macedonia. Why? Because I got the man I was in love with.
How does Filiz Ahmet see love?
-Love based on trust is much more beautiful, of course. But we never know how it what will come. Knock, knock and it comes. From this point of view I control myself, I am cautious.
What your show business feed with?
-I have many friends and I also have a great potential of making friends abroad. I like communicating with everybody. For instance, I have noticed that when you talk you always move your little finger. If when you play a role you add something in addition to the character, you enrich it. I really liked this thing. If I play anywhere, I will add this thing. We steal a little. In show business you give more. Now, for Nigar’s role I used many feelings and pantomime. If in my new role I used the same gestures, I would repeat myself a lot. That is why I have to notice more and gather many behaviors.
“I haven’t reached exhaustion yet”
There were many comments about the exhaustion syndrome lived by Meryem Uzerli. Have you ever felt that you reached that point?
-I have my moments of boredom when I encounter routine, sometimes people get bored of their home, and they can even get bored of their families. As far as I am concerned, I haven’t reached this point. As, except for some episodes of the first season, we have never put in the position of working 12, 24 hours. Once in a while, especially in the episodes with war scenes, there were long moments of waiting in which we felt tired, but as on the stage it was quiet, we had a pleasant tiredness. Working on a big project, the maximum break hour is 9, 10. Are serials long? Yes, they are long, but this is a general issue in this sector. At least we have the break periods; I shoot two scenes than I leave. But they do not have such a luxury. They come in the morning and are present from the first scene to the last. In the first episodes, we started at 8 in the morning and we worked until 3 in the morning. Then, a standard was established. In the days in which there were war scenes and dramatic scenes, based on the training way, there was such intensity. But besides this we had our rest time, we are not like those from behind the shooting stage.
(Vatan Gazetesi)
Translated by Camelia Maria Gavrila.