How easy is it for someone accustomed to making their own decisions to face the uncertainties that love brings? In Marriage Is Beautiful, Nil Sude Albayrak plays Aslı, a woman who finds herself caught up in unexpected emotions while trying to preserve her independence. We spoke with Nil Sude Albayrak about Aslı’s stance in the face of social expectations, her developing relationship with Can, and the importance of maintaining one’s identity while growing closer to someone.
Aslı is a woman who prioritises her own goals and independence, outside the traditional roles society assigns to women. What has portraying her made you think about the social expectations women face?
I find Aslı’s desire to have a say in her own life very understandable. She loves her family and shares a strong bond with them, but she also wants to make her own decisions. Women are sometimes expected to be both independent and capable of making everyone around them happy. Maintaining both is not easy. Aslı is someone who can voice her objections when faced with these expectations.
While portraying her, I also think about how being strong does not always mean knowing exactly what to do. Aslı can be indecisive, make mistakes and let her emotions get the better of her. These contradictions she experiences while trying to find her own path make her a much more interesting character to me.
For someone like Aslı, who is used to shaping her life according to her own decisions and is strong and independent, how easy is it to surrender to the uncertainties that come with love?
I don’t think it is easy for Aslı. You can make decisions about your own life on your own, but when you grow close to someone, their feelings and choices also begin to affect your life. Not knowing exactly what the other person feels, while trying to understand your own emotions and figure out theirs at the same time, can be challenging.
We see Aslı struggling with this uncertainty from time to time in her relationship with Can. On the one hand, she wants to get closer to him; on the other, she tries to protect herself. I think the real challenge here is discovering that she can trust someone without giving up her independence. Aslı learns this through experience.
On one side, she has a father who is a marriage registrar; on the other, there is Can, a divorce lawyer for whom she is beginning to develop feelings. How do you think these two very different worlds shape Aslı’s views on love and marriage?
Aslı grew up with a father who places great value on marriage and family. She understands what Mesut believes in, but she is not someone who accepts all of his views without questioning them. Can, on the other hand, encounters the side of relationships where things fall apart and people fail to get along, simply because of his profession. Moreover, he carries his own emotional wounds from the past.
Aslı can understand some of their views while disagreeing with others. As she grows closer to Can, she begins to understand why he sees relationships the way he does. At the same time, she is confronted with her own feelings. I think all of this encourages Aslı to think more deeply about the kind of relationship she wants and what she expects from one.
