Jan 11, 2022

Burcu Biricik Goes Femme Fatale

Fatma is an ordinary and almost invisible cleaning lady who finds herself in a difficult situation that forces her to reveal an unexpected truth about herself. Talented star Burcu Biricik plays the lead in the highly anticipated, new Turkish Netflix Original series ‘Fatma’ which will drop worldwide on April 27. We spoke to Biricik about getting into the character, being a ‘Fatma’ in today’s World and finding your own path.

The World will get to meet ‘Fatma’ on April 27 through Netflix Turkey. How do you feel about playing the lead in a series that will go out in 190 countries on the same day?

I am always very excited to be a part of a project that is broadcasted at all, yet for this to be happening in 190 countries at the same time really makes me ecstatic. I can’t wait to see the how the world reacts to it.

How did you prepare for the role? What impacted you the most?

In the beginning, I was more focused on her physical characteristics like the way she looks, talks or carries herself. Later on, I realized that I needed to understand her state of mind, so I immediately started studying on that. Thankfully, I had lots of prep time and two outstanding directors that gave me freedom to do so. We’ve had long conversations about Fatma with a psychologist and then had psychological assertion sessions with our directors. Once we started shooting, things became much easier.

Will we see a piece of Burcu in the series? Do you share any common traits with Fatma?

Initially I thought, Fatma is the most contradistinctive character I had ever played. But on set when I am in character, I realized that Fatma bears some resemblances not to me, but to my grandmother. Not in terms of what happened to her but in the way she moves, talks or gazes. My grandmother’s name is also Fatma. Since I grew up with her, Fatma suddenly became a character I had the chance to observe the most.

Being invisible, fighting for your own existence… Is Fatma’s struggle basically an allegory for a woman dealing with life in a man’s world?

I think so. And this struggle for visibility or pure existence in a world ruled by male hegemony, is not just happening in our country, it’s all over the world. Therefore, we are presenting a global issue with a local character in this project. We see how a woman is forced to become isolated, discarded only to be left hopeless and helpless. As a result, come the invisible and inaudible women.

Let’s continue from metaphors. Although it’s depicted in a quite different way, one of the important themes in the series is to claiming your inner strength or potential. What was it like to be a part of someone’s self-discovery process especially when that person has no idea what she’s capable of?

Nicely said! This definitely is a remarkable transformation story about finding your inner strength. Although our storytelling methods were mostly metaphorical, it was an amazing experience to feel her inner journey like it’s my own and I really felt empowered. It was a powerful feeling for a woman who was forced to become invisible to find a way to use this to her advantage and take action.

Were there any moments when it was really challenging to relate to Fatma? How did you manage to adjust your moral compass in terms of murder against injustice?

There were many challenging moments. The things she had gone through were never easy. However, we’ve all heard or experienced some of these things to a certain extent. Therefore, it wasn’t that difficult to empathise.

If you were to choose any other character than Fatma, who would that be?

I never really thought about that. They are all such well thought out characters, portrayed by such good actors. I really don’t know how to answer that. For instance, Fatma’s sister Mine is also a great character but I would still prefer that character to be portrayed by Hazal (Turesan) instead of me.

Last but not least… If you were to give a single advice to Fatma on her journey to self-discovery, what would that be?

Fatma already realised and confronted many of the things I wanted to tell her along the way. I wonder what will happen next, but I would especially want to be there for her and talk to her during the final scene.