The Game of my Destiny
The Game of my Destiny
A Review by Cécile Rischmann
The story revolves around a dazzling-eyed down-to-earth hardworking married woman, Asiye, and two minor children (a teenage girl, Nergis and a little boy, Ugur). Asiye is left to fend on her own when her husband, a young handsome, ambitious truck driver Cemal (supposedly in love with her), finds a beautiful, wealthy woman, Helin and takes off for a more satisfactory life.
Asiye knows nothing of his whereabouts, nor does she understand the reason for his departure as theirs was a love marriage with many beautiful memories. Of course, in his last call, Cemal confesses that he cannot continue with the harsh, pitiless life and has to find greener pastures.
Emotionally shattered and financially struggling, Asiye bravely fights hardships single-handed and keeps the boat afloat with the pittance of a salary she earns. Cemal, in the meantime, has become a part of the elite society and is running his father-in-law Harun Demirhan’s company successfully. Helin, his second wife (unaware that her newly-acquired husband is a married man with a family of his own), is desperately in love with him and is bending backwards to please him. They have a son, Umut.
The story takes a turn when an unsavoury character assaults Nergis, and she stabs him, and he dies. The family has to run for their life, and without money, they cannot run far. Intending to reach her only relative, Asiye and her children are heading miles away in a stolen car when they are almost seized. Fortunately, a kind stranger, Mahir, offers to drive them to their destiny. On the way, Asiye learns that her relative is leaving for Germany to be with her daughter and hence Asiye and her children have no roof, money and nowhere to lie down and rest.
Mahir, sensing Asiye’s despair, questions her. She confides briefly about her situation, and he offers to help her. But disaster strikes again, and their car collides with a truck. All of them are hospitalised, and Mahir is in the ICU.
The police come to investigate the accident and take a statement from them. Asiye, Nergis, and Ugur panic and claim they are the family of Mahir. In the meantime, Mahir’s mother Emine, brother Fikret and sister-in-law are in the hospital. Imagine their shock when they learn that Mahir is married with children. But since Mahir has lived in Russia for a while, they accept that perhaps he had his reasons.
Asiye and her children are welcomed warmly into Mahir’s family and are taken to the Demirhan Mansion, where they live in the servant’s quarters and work for the Demirhan family.
The Demirhan family has a troubled atmosphere right from their first appearance. The head, Harun, a strong-willed but kind man, has a dishonest and unworthy son, Raci, who runs a secret casino in the hotel without his father’s knowledge. His daughter-in-law Zahide is even worse; she cannot help but meddle in everyone’s affairs, make disgusting comments, wasting her time bringing the house down. His lovely teenage granddaughter is on a 24-hour shopping spree. But his daughter Helin is beautiful inside out and adores her husband and son. She stands up for what is right and doesn’t hesitate to put people in their place but in a kind way.
Harun’s wife, Nedret, is another tragic addition to his life. She holds a grudge against him for an affair years ago resulting in a child and forces him to give up his son to Maid Emine, Mahir’s adopted mother. It was the main reason why Mahir left for Russia.
Harun, towards retirement age, has a life-threatening illness and decides to make amends with his estranged son, Mahir, and calls him back from Russia. He intends to adopt Mahir legally and give him his rightful inheritance, much to the horror of the Demirhan family. Except for Helin, none of the family members is willing to share their name, let alone their fortune.
When Mahir becomes conscious in the ICU, he discovers he has a wife and children, but instead of shock, he is delighted. Secretly, he has fallen for the exquisite-eyed Asiye and idolises her children. He hopes that they can be a real family.
The day he returns from the hospital (after a secret agreement with his make-believe wife and children that he will not reveal the truth), they come face-to-face with a man Asiye never hoped to see — her run-away husband, Cemal. Gone was the truck driver in a sweatshirt and blue jeans and enters a sophisticated, suited and booted man, who escorts his pretty wife and cute child. However, when he comes face to face with Asiye, there is shock, alarm and disturbance in the air. Nergis, seeing her father, faints in distress. Ugur is unaware that the man in front of him is his father, as Cemal had left when he was born. Moreover, he has adopted Mahir as his father and loves him to bits.
Chaos begins as truck-driver-turned-elite husband Cemal cannot leave Asiye alone and keeps harassing her emotionally, bombarding her with memories of their happy times – all this in secret. In public, they behave as if they don’t know each other.
Asiye is battling against Cemal’s roguish charm, trying to do justice to Mahir, who has taken over her family, supporting them to unbelievable extents. She sometimes feels guilty that they are not giving Mahir his due.
Nergis quickly replaces Mahir with Cemal, believing Cemal’s fatherly love and concern gestures. She behaves arrogantly with Mahir as she feels that he hinders her parents from getting back together.
Asiye stands up to Cemal and tells him to take a flying leap and that she has found someone worthy of being loved.
However, Cemal doesn’t seem to be getting the message and continues to chase her and annoy us with his relentless pursuit of a woman he had once given up for a better life.
The storyline is exciting and keeps us on edge as we wait to see how the conflicts resolve and the plot unfolds. Asiye portrays a woman of substance who doesn’t fold in crises but rises and shines.
Mahir is a fantastic actor who tugs at our heartstrings as he stands by Asiye and her children, trying to do his bit to keep them smiling.
Cemal’s character lacks depth and emotion. We cannot participate in his pain as we do not have enough backstory. We are most aggravated by his crying spells as we cannot understand why a man who has vowed fidelity and was so happy with his wife should leave like a thief and marry someone else. Also, if he loved Asiye and the children the way he seemed to project, would he have not sent a little money to help them through? Considering that he was earning and living an elite life, could he have not wondered how his wife was doing, whether she and the children had food on the table? How could you claim fatherhood when you haven’t done anything that merits that label? His character sketch has not been adequately treated; thus, his performance doesn’t live up to expectations. By the time crucial details are revealed towards the end, it is already too late as we have formed our opinion.
Nergis is a disappointment too. Her swings from loving sensitive daughter to arrogant sharp tongue one startle us. Her outbursts are too unexpected, exaggerated and grate on our nerves. Just as we are absorbing her character, she pulls another stunt, and we are like…what the heck?
Zahide’s character also leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from mischief-making, she doesn’t seem to contribute much to the story. Her disdain for the lowly and her below-the-belt comments make us cringe with embarrassment. Perhaps if we know why she behaves that way, we could empathise with her character.
On the other hand, Raci is in his element as the rascal of the Demirhan family. He does everything under the sun to make us hate him; however, we identify with him because he plays a convincing role and makes his character believable.
Ugur and Umut are fantastic as child artists and very promising. Helin, too, plays her role well as the loving, faithful wife who sees no wrong in her husband or anyone else for that matter. Harun and Nedret are poles apart, but we can empathise with them. Fikret, his wife, son and mother are adorable. Harun’s granddaughter has a stunning presence, and Asiye’s best friend and her cousin from the small-town neighbourhood also play their roles well.
Overall, I enjoyed The Game of my Destiny and hope to see more of Asiye (Oyku Karayel). She is simply breathtaking and continues to impress with her performance. I first saw her in Heartbeat, and I must say she astounded me.
Hats off to the team behind the series: Director, Scriptwriter, Music Director, Singer, Cinematographer, Editors, Make-up Artistes, Stylists – you all have made the series stand out. Bravo!
A Review by Cécile Rischmann
The story revolves around a dazzling-eyed down-to-earth hardworking married woman, Asiye, and two minor children (a teenage girl, Nergis and a little boy, Ugur). Asiye is left to fend on her own when her husband, a young handsome, ambitious truck driver Cemal (supposedly in love with her), finds a beautiful, wealthy woman, Helin and takes off for a more satisfactory life.
Asiye knows nothing of his whereabouts, nor does she understand the reason for his departure as theirs was a love marriage with many beautiful memories. Of course, in his last call, Cemal confesses that he cannot continue with the harsh, pitiless life and has to find greener pastures.
Emotionally shattered and financially struggling, Asiye bravely fights hardships single-handed and keeps the boat afloat with the pittance of a salary she earns. Cemal, in the meantime, has become a part of the elite society and is running his father-in-law Harun Demirhan’s company successfully. Helin, his second wife (unaware that her newly-acquired husband is a married man with a family of his own), is desperately in love with him and is bending backwards to please him. They have a son, Umut.
The story takes a turn when an unsavoury character assaults Nergis, and she stabs him, and he dies. The family has to run for their life, and without money, they cannot run far. Intending to reach her only relative, Asiye and her children are heading miles away in a stolen car when they are almost seized. Fortunately, a kind stranger, Mahir, offers to drive them to their destiny. On the way, Asiye learns that her relative is leaving for Germany to be with her daughter and hence Asiye and her children have no roof, money and nowhere to lie down and rest.
Mahir, sensing Asiye’s despair, questions her. She confides briefly about her situation, and he offers to help her. But disaster strikes again, and their car collides with a truck. All of them are hospitalised, and Mahir is in the ICU.
The police come to investigate the accident and take a statement from them. Asiye, Nergis, and Ugur panic and claim they are the family of Mahir. In the meantime, Mahir’s mother Emine, brother Fikret and sister-in-law are in the hospital. Imagine their shock when they learn that Mahir is married with children. But since Mahir has lived in Russia for a while, they accept that perhaps he had his reasons.
Asiye and her children are welcomed warmly into Mahir’s family and are taken to the Demirhan Mansion, where they live in the servant’s quarters and work for the Demirhan family.
The Demirhan family has a troubled atmosphere right from their first appearance. The head, Harun, a strong-willed but kind man, has a dishonest and unworthy son, Raci, who runs a secret casino in the hotel without his father’s knowledge. His daughter-in-law Zahide is even worse; she cannot help but meddle in everyone’s affairs, make disgusting comments, wasting her time bringing the house down. His lovely teenage granddaughter is on a 24-hour shopping spree. But his daughter Helin is beautiful inside out and adores her husband and son. She stands up for what is right and doesn’t hesitate to put people in their place but in a kind way.
Harun’s wife, Nedret, is another tragic addition to his life. She holds a grudge against him for an affair years ago resulting in a child and forces him to give up his son to Maid Emine, Mahir’s adopted mother. It was the main reason why Mahir left for Russia.
Harun, towards retirement age, has a life-threatening illness and decides to make amends with his estranged son, Mahir, and calls him back from Russia. He intends to adopt Mahir legally and give him his rightful inheritance, much to the horror of the Demirhan family. Except for Helin, none of the family members is willing to share their name, let alone their fortune.
When Mahir becomes conscious in the ICU, he discovers he has a wife and children, but instead of shock, he is delighted. Secretly, he has fallen for the exquisite-eyed Asiye and idolises her children. He hopes that they can be a real family.
The day he returns from the hospital (after a secret agreement with his make-believe wife and children that he will not reveal the truth), they come face-to-face with a man Asiye never hoped to see — her run-away husband, Cemal. Gone was the truck driver in a sweatshirt and blue jeans and enters a sophisticated, suited and booted man, who escorts his pretty wife and cute child. However, when he comes face to face with Asiye, there is shock, alarm and disturbance in the air. Nergis, seeing her father, faints in distress. Ugur is unaware that the man in front of him is his father, as Cemal had left when he was born. Moreover, he has adopted Mahir as his father and loves him to bits.
Chaos begins as truck-driver-turned-elite husband Cemal cannot leave Asiye alone and keeps harassing her emotionally, bombarding her with memories of their happy times – all this in secret. In public, they behave as if they don’t know each other.
Asiye is battling against Cemal’s roguish charm, trying to do justice to Mahir, who has taken over her family, supporting them to unbelievable extents. She sometimes feels guilty that they are not giving Mahir his due.
Nergis quickly replaces Mahir with Cemal, believing Cemal’s fatherly love and concern gestures. She behaves arrogantly with Mahir as she feels that he hinders her parents from getting back together.
Asiye stands up to Cemal and tells him to take a flying leap and that she has found someone worthy of being loved.
However, Cemal doesn’t seem to be getting the message and continues to chase her and annoy us with his relentless pursuit of a woman he had once given up for a better life.
The storyline is exciting and keeps us on edge as we wait to see how the conflicts resolve and the plot unfolds. Asiye portrays a woman of substance who doesn’t fold in crises but rises and shines.
Mahir is a fantastic actor who tugs at our heartstrings as he stands by Asiye and her children, trying to do his bit to keep them smiling.
Cemal’s character lacks depth and emotion. We cannot participate in his pain as we do not have enough backstory. We are most aggravated by his crying spells as we cannot understand why a man who has vowed fidelity and was so happy with his wife should leave like a thief and marry someone else. Also, if he loved Asiye and the children the way he seemed to project, would he have not sent a little money to help them through? Considering that he was earning and living an elite life, could he have not wondered how his wife was doing, whether she and the children had food on the table? How could you claim fatherhood when you haven’t done anything that merits that label? His character sketch has not been adequately treated; thus, his performance doesn’t live up to expectations. By the time crucial details are revealed towards the end, it is already too late as we have formed our opinion.
Nergis is a disappointment too. Her swings from loving sensitive daughter to arrogant sharp tongue one startle us. Her outbursts are too unexpected, exaggerated and grate on our nerves. Just as we are absorbing her character, she pulls another stunt, and we are like…what the heck?
Zahide’s character also leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from mischief-making, she doesn’t seem to contribute much to the story. Her disdain for the lowly and her below-the-belt comments make us cringe with embarrassment. Perhaps if we know why she behaves that way, we could empathise with her character.
On the other hand, Raci is in his element as the rascal of the Demirhan family. He does everything under the sun to make us hate him; however, we identify with him because he plays a convincing role and makes his character believable.
Ugur and Umut are fantastic as child artists and very promising. Helin, too, plays her role well as the loving, faithful wife who sees no wrong in her husband or anyone else for that matter. Harun and Nedret are poles apart, but we can empathise with them. Fikret, his wife, son and mother are adorable. Harun’s granddaughter has a stunning presence, and Asiye’s best friend and her cousin from the small-town neighbourhood also play their roles well.
Overall, I enjoyed The Game of my Destiny and hope to see more of Asiye (Oyku Karayel). She is simply breathtaking and continues to impress with her performance. I first saw her in Heartbeat, and I must say she astounded me.
Hats off to the team behind the series: Director, Scriptwriter, Music Director, Singer, Cinematographer, Editors, Make-up Artistes, Stylists – you all have made the series stand out. Bravo!
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