Show Goes On For Turkish Drama Despite Virus Rules

Istanbul, June 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jun, 2020 ) :On a tv screen split into squares, a group of people speak on their laptops, taking turns and trying not to talk over each other.

What looks like a corporate video conference is in fact a Turkish television soap opera shot in isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey is known for its obsession with TV dramas -- also a massive export success -- and not even virus restrictions could stop the cast of "Tutunamayanlar" from keeping the show going.

The drama, known as "The Outcasts" in English and aired by state-run TRT channel, kept viewers entertained by respecting the strict lockdown regulations throughout the pandemic even if it meant no makeup and no actors working together.

The last six episodes of the season, which wrapped up this week, were shot on video-conferencing platform Zoom.

Dogu Demirkol, who plays jobless man Tarik who keeps failing in life, said actors are adapting even though the virus upended how they perform.

"There's nobody next to me. I act on my own and the others are on their own, sometimes our dialogues clash. We try to perform without breaking into each other's roles," Demirkol told AFP in the wooden house where the series was being shot at a set complex in Beykoz on the Asian outskirts of Istanbul.

"It doesn't feel like real life, it's a bit artificial. I see how it is after I watch later... but still we're having fun," he said.

The coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe forced Turkey into lockdown from mid-March, and has caused more than 4,500 deaths.

The government has now eased most of the restrictions including allowing restaurants and cafes to reopen this week.