Ahmet Kaya's life brought to the big screen: Release date announced

The life of artist Ahmet Kaya, who passed away in Paris on November 16, 2000, has been adapted into a film.

Kaya is portrayed by Celil Nalçakan.

In the production, directed by Kudret Sabancı, Nalçakan is accompanied by Ezgi Şenler.

WHO IS AHMET KAYA?

Ahmet Kaya was born in 1957 in Malatya as the fifth child of a family of Kurdish origin. He was originally from Adıyaman. His father was a worker at the Sümerbank weaving factory. He attended primary school in Malatya.

He was introduced to music at the age of six with a bağlama gifted by his father. In his spare time after school, he began working in a shop that sold records and cassettes. Due to his family's financial difficulties, they migrated to Kocamustafapaşa, Istanbul, in 1972, and he was forced to drop out of school. He worked as a street vendor and as an apprentice in various workplaces. During this period, he experienced the difficulties of moving from a small settlement to a big city and adjusting to it.

He had the opportunity to meet Ruhi Su at an event held at Boğaziçi University and sang the Ruhi Su folk song "Mahsus Mahal". He performed his military service in Gelibolu in 1978, during which time he continued his musical studies in the military band.

After returning from the military, he married his first wife, Emine, and their daughter Çiğdem was born in 1982. However, this marriage did not last long. He later married Gülten Hayaloğlu, the sister of Yusuf Hayaloğlu. From this marriage, his second daughter, Melis, was born in 1987.

FIRST PROFESSIONAL WORKS

He faced economic difficulties due to unemployment. During this time, his wife left him. Hoping to escape these economic problems, he tried to go to prison by "acting against the system," in his own words. Ultimately, after long efforts, he released his album "Ağlama Bebeğim" in 1984. He gave a small concert at the Şan Theater in Istanbul.

The album was recalled the year it was released, but the censorship was later lifted. In 1985, he signed with Değişim Studio for his second album, "Acılara Tutunmak," just as he had for the first. The owner of the studio was Sezer Bağcan, the brother of Selda Bağcan, who was in Metris Military Prison at the time.

He mediated the meeting between Ahmet Kaya and Gülten Hayaloğlu, a victim of the September 12 coup whom he had met in prison. They married after the album was released. Gülten Hayaloğlu delivered the poem "Şafak Türküsü" by Nevzat Çelik, who was sentenced to death in prison, to Ahmet Kaya. Thus, the album that brought him widespread recognition was "Şafak Türküsü," produced in 1985 and released in 1986. He worked with arranger Oğuz Abadan on this album and composed almost all the music himself. He released the album "An Gelir" the same year.

MEETING YUSUF HAYALOĞLU

During the time he met Gülten Hayaloğlu, he also became acquainted with her brother Yusuf Hayaloğlu and his poetry. The album "Yorgun Demokrat," for which the majority of the lyrics were written by Yusuf Hayaloğlu, was released in 1987. In 1988, the album "Başkaldırıyorum" was released, featuring only two songs with lyrics by Hayaloğlu, while the rest consisted of poems by well-known poets. This was followed in 1989 by the release of "Resitaller-1," a compilation of his concerts consisting only of bağlama and vocals.

The same year, with arrangements by Osman İşmen, the album "İyimser Bir Gül" was released, with the majority of the lyrics written by Hayaloğlu. In 1990, the album "Resitaller-2," a continuation of "Resitaller-1," was released. In October of the same year, he released the album "Sevgi Duvarı," consisting of poems by various poets.

He composed the music for the films "Tatar Ramazan" in 1990 and "Tatar Ramazan Sürgünde" in 1992. In 1994, he hosted the program "Ahmet Abi'nin Vapuru," which aired on Kanal D and was produced by Gülten Kaya and Yusuf Hayaloğlu.

AHMET KAYA'S MUSICAL STYLE

In his early albums, he generally focused on the bağlama. Because Ahmet Kaya's style could not be fully categorized under pop, Turkish folk music, or arabesque, it began to be called "özgün müzik" (original music).

He opposed defining his musical style as revolutionary arabesque or protest. Along with compositions for which he wrote the lyrics himself, he also composed poems by well-known poets such as Attilâ İlhan, Can Yücel, Nevzat Çelik, Hasan Hüseyin Korkmazgil, Enver Gökçe, Ahmed Arif, Arkadaş Zekai Özger, and Ahmet Erhan.

He generally addressed social issues in his songs. In his total of twenty-two albums, there is only one Kurdish song (Karwan) and one Kurdish opening.

When he met Ruhi Su at Boğaziçi University and played the folk song "Mahsus Mahal," Ruhi Su told him that the bağlama should not be played in that manner, "like a horse kicking." Years later, during a concert, Ahmet Kaya made a witty reference to this incident while playing the bağlama, saying, "The bağlama can also be played like this."

AHMET KAYA'S DEATH

On November 16, 2000, while recording his album "Hoşçakalın Gözüm," he passed away as a result of a heart attack one night at his home in the Porte de Versailles district of Paris. On November 17, 2000, he was laid to rest in section 71 of the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, in a ceremony attended by over 30,000 people.

In 2002, an album titled "Dinle Sevgili Ülkem," in which 20 famous artists sang Ahmet Kaya's songs, was produced, and the albums "Hoşçakalın Gözüm" and "Biraz da Sen Ağla," which included the Kurdish track "Karwan" (Caravan) and its music video that he had announced at the Magazine Journalists Association night, were released. His grave in section 71 of the Père Lachaise Cemetery was rearranged in 2003. His grave, which weighs 3.5 tons, features edelweiss motifs, instruments, a Kastamonu headscarf pattern, the silhouette of Istanbul, song lyrics, and his bust. Four more albums titled "Kalsın Benim Davam" and "Gözlerim Bin Yaşında" (December 2006) have been released.

On September 4, 2007, the Ahmet Kaya People's House, the only place opened in his name in Turkey, was inaugurated in Batman.[24] In 2009, ideas were put forward by the AK Party government regarding moving his grave from Paris to Turkey.[25] Ahmet Kaya's grave is still located in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

In 2010, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of his death, the documentary titled "Uçurtmam Tellere Takıldı," prepared by Ümit Kıvanç, was released.

On October 28, 2013, the award in the field of 'music' at the 2013 Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards was given to Ahmet Kaya.

On September 1, 2020, a park bearing his name was opened in the Asarlık Irmak neighborhood of the Menemen district of İzmir, timed to coincide with World Peace Day.

News Source: 12punto