Taha Akgül, President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, and record-breaking national wrestler Rıza Kayaalp appeared as guest stars in TRT's production 'Mehmed: Sultan of Conquests'. During the filming, the duo experienced a realistic scene where a castle gate fell on them, but no injuries occurred. Although the heavy gate fell on Taha Akgül's shoulder, causing panic, it was confirmed that there were no issues.
The legends of Turkish wrestling made exclusive statements to Demirören News Agency (DHA) during their visit to the set.
Expressing his happiness about being part of the series, Rıza Kayaalp said, "It's a beautiful experience. It's a series we've been following since the first episode, and being a part of 'Mehmed: Sultan of Conquests' is an honor for us. The conquest of Istanbul, winning many consecutive wars, the transformation of the Ottoman Empire into an empire, and being able to go back to those days and be a part of it in this series is a proud moment for us. As I said, we had beautiful scenes. I want to say that first. We also have very beautiful, surprising, action-packed scenes. We had scenes that viewers will follow with excitement," he said.
TAHA AKGÜL: WRESTLING IS OUR COUNTRY'S MOST SUCCESSFUL SPORT
Taha Akgül stated that the series is one of Turkey's most important productions, saying, "Of course, being part of this series is a great honor for us. 'Mehmed: Sultan of Conquests' is currently one of our country's most important works. It tells our history, reflects the emotional scenes of the conquest of Istanbul, and there is such preparation and a team here with 450-500 employees, there is tremendous effort here. It really takes you back in time. Being part of such an ambiance is really tiring for us, but it's very enjoyable, I can say that first. Wrestling, as you know, is our country's most successful and spiritual sport, our ancestral sport. It is a sport that has been practiced since the Ottoman era. Here, it was our fate to wrestle in front of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror as two Akıncı Beys and to conquer the castle by breaking the castle gate," he said.
'A DOOR WEIGHING NEARLY 1 TON FELL ON US'
Akgül recounted an interesting memory from the filming, "A very beautiful scene happened in the episode, a spiritual event occurred. Normally, we were supposed to break the barriers behind the door, but we ended up breaking the entire door. The door was nearly 1 ton. It fell on us, and we continued to attack from under the door. It was a beautiful scene there. It was really an event that showed our strength and motivated us a lot. It also motivated the team a lot. The scenario continued in the same way from there. It was a very beautiful moment," he said.
'WE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTACHED TO TRADITIONS, BOTH RIZA AND I'
Taha Akgül, who experienced acting for the first time in the series, said, "Everyone is actually good at their own job. This job has its own difficulties, you repeat it over and over again. It also has stress. You have to shoot the same scene many times. We had played in a few commercials before, but this is our first experience in a series. But reflecting our history motivates us a lot and excites us. We prepare for the scenes in a very motivated way. Especially being an Akıncı and a wrestler, being an oil wrestler also motivates us. It's actually a familiar area. You know wrestling is the sport of Turks. We are people who are attached to traditions, both Rıza and I. In this sense, we are not strangers. We are also familiar with every detail of the series. We are one of the biggest viewers. We watch every episode without missing it. Although there were moments when we struggled, we enjoyed it a lot," he said.
'OUR PRESIDENT ASKED WHO WOULD WIN WHEN HE HEARD WE WOULD WRESTLE HERE'
Akgül stated that the President was also curious about the wrestling scene in the series, "Our President especially asked 'who will win?' when he heard we would wrestle here. He follows it, watches the series a lot, and likes it. He was informed about this, and he said, 'Taha, who will win?' I said, 'Sir, we will see that in the series.' He liked it very much and laughed. Of course, his following and watching this series, and liking our presence here, makes us very happy," he said.
RIZA KAYAALP: THEY TOLD US TO BREAK THE BARRIERS, WE TOOK DOWN THE DOOR
Rıza Kayaalp, who said they were used to cameras but acting was a different experience, said, "Actually, if we look at it this way, we are athletes who wrestle in front of cameras. We are used to cameras, but of course, when it comes to the role part, we may be inexperienced there. As I said, due to the work we do, we can quickly adapt to the job. We didn't have any problems in that regard. It went well. But they told us this. They told us to 'break the barriers'. We took down the door. I was very surprised there. The door was almost 750-1000 kilos. When we pushed, the door opened, the barriers behind it didn't break. When we continued to push, the door completely broke from the hinges. It was a different memory for us and I think it was a nice action. I hope they will watch us with admiration," he said.
'TAHA STARTED WITH A VERY HARD HAND NECK'
Kayaalp also mentioned the wrestling scene, "Actually, when we first started, you know Taha is a freestyle wrestler. I am a Greco-Roman wrestler. We have hand necks, but not as hard as Taha's. We started directly, Taha started with a very hard hand neck. I said, 'Brother, if you hit a little softer, I would appreciate it.' We had a nice wrestling match. As Taha said, our President is also aware of this. He will probably watch the final episode. We have beautiful scenes, I want to say that first. I hope the viewers will enjoy watching us. They always saw us wrestling, let's see how it feels to see us here," he said.
TAHA AKGÜL: WE LAUGH A LOT BETWEEN TAKES, WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN
Taha Akgül, describing the initial excitement on set, said, "Actually, it's very fun from start to finish. We laugh a lot between takes, we have a lot of fun. It's really very enjoyable. Now, especially at the beginning, we were excited. Our director first said, 'I want a very lively emotion from you' when the castle gate closed. Then he said, 'I want you to show this,' the castle gate closed. So, we weren't given any other cues. No cues were given. Do this like this, your facial expression should be like this, enter like this. When the door suddenly closed, we turned to each other and looked at each other like what are we going to do. I mean, okay, there's a castle gate, it's going to break, but how will our facial expression be, where will we enter, how will we hold our hands. We were quite confused there. We looked at each other. We experienced a bit of amateurism and excitement there," he said.
RIZA KAYAALP: WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
Rıza Kayaalp, recounting the same moment, said, "Then I said to the director, 'Sir, you tell us, explain. What are we going to do, that's enough,' I said. 'We will do it,' I said. 'You tell us, that's enough,' we said. Because we were stuck once. We experienced the stress of not knowing what to do. After that, they always explained what we were going to do. I think we adapted. I hope, as I said, everything will fit better in the montage," he said.
'I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER IF OUR FILM IS MADE WHILE WE ARE ALIVE'
Answering a question about the possibility of their lives being made into a film, Kayaalp said, "I think there are many people who are suitable for my type, they can be found. I don't know anymore. When will it be made? Do they make it after you die? I don't know, in our country, some things are valued after death. So, I can't say anything. But making a film about us would be nice. We really left beautiful marks in our history. We achieved difficult records, won medals, championships, broke records. I think it would be better if our film is made while we are alive," he said.
TAHA AKGÜL: WHEN THE SAME SUCCESSES DON'T COME LATER, THE VALUE BEGINS TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Taha Akgül concluded his words as follows:
"I think the same way, of course. Thank God, we had the opportunity to serve our country well. We had the opportunity to serve our flag well, we became the pride of our country. Actually, our presence in this series is because of that. Because being deemed worthy is also important. This series is an important series. An important work. Being able to be part of this series is actually a success. We see it that way. Because it's a series with high spirituality. Why are there no people from different branches, but Taha and Rıza are here? Because we are suitable for this place both in terms of structure, understanding, and tradition. Of course, while we are alive, we have actually achieved very historical successes, but the value of people is not well known while they are alive. Actually, it is like this in the world. This is also present in sports in general. As time passes, you start to be forgotten. Later, when the same successes don't come, the value begins to be understood."
