Instead of being the court jester, he has been the man of the people

A scene from “Yol” movie. Tarik Akan words at picture with English translation: “You guys, have put us in blacklist as ‘revolutionary’, but history will put you in blacklist as ‘traitor’; this is the difference between us.”

Tarik Akan who was one of the best actors of the Turkish movies, has died today. He was 66 years old, and he has been receiving the lung cancer treattment for a while. His movie career has begun in 1971. Actually he had a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, but he had entered a contest of the Turkish famous magazine called Ses and came first. In a short time, he has become one of the most handsome players at Yesilcam(Turkey’s Hollywood).

In the first years he played mostly the roles for the love and poor-rich movies, except the movie of Hababam Sinifi (The Dunce Class). But his leftist ideas outweighed the earning money from popular movies.

A scene from The Dunce Class movie; Tarik Akan is standing up with the blue sweater in the middle of the class

And he started to play into the films which gives the social messages. Tarik Akan had said in an interview: “I was an artist working connected with Ertem Egilmez(he was the Turkish director). Egilmez also captured rich and poor films. One day I said to Ertem Egilmez “I was tired of these films”. Because I did not know the characters I played. I was not a rich kid. I wanted to do something else…”

With this decision, he showed his face with Maden (Mine) movie with a coal miner role in 1978. Mine movie tells about the mine workers and a revolutionary in a coalmine and their actions against the mine’s boss.

Tarik Akan had been arrested in early 1981 when he returned back to the country from Germany, because of a speech he made in Germany immediately after September 12 military coup in Turkey. He stayed in prison many months. He has been tortured, and he had told his memories about those years into the book “Mother, there is the louse in my head.” which was written by himself in 2002.

But he never gave up! He continued to play at the movies which disturb the powers. He has got great success with his role in the “Yol” movie in 1982. Also he has won numerous awards from various festivals including Cannes and Berlin, during his life time.

His revolutionist side and his attitude being by the public have not changed, even if the years passed.

For example:

While Ergenekon-Balyoz cases were continuing, out side of the court at Silivri (the cases were tried in there), the crowd people were making protest demonstrations. All court building and prisons inside were surrounded by police barriers. And many people wanted to go inside while the cases opened. Government used many tear gas and violance to them in many days.

Tarik Akan has been there! He went to there to support to the peoples. And when he went to there, he tried to bring the military police barriers down!

Here, his picture at that day in 2012.

The writing on the picture in English: “He went to bring the barriers down at his birthday.” Tarik Akan is the grey hair man who pushes the barriers at picture.

Yes, that day was his birthday. And this was the way of his celebration to his own birthday: To be with the people of Anatolia!

Anatolia lands lost many valuable people especially during last years. I don’t know maybe the world is going to bad end with high speed and people understand these people values more than before; and maybe feel more their absence anymore…

I am sure with Tarik Akan’s absence, many people of Anatolia in many public demonstrations at future, will look at the empty road with sadness and with thinking:

“If Tarik Akan had been here, we would not have felt alone…”

Rest in peace, beatiful human!