Leyla ile Mecnun (Leyla and Mecnun) is a Turkish television comedy series. The series, set in Istanbul and directed by Onur ÃÂnlü, premiered in 2011 on TRT. It is a surreal, absurdist comedy revolving around the parody of the poetic love story of Layla and Majnun. It released seasons 1-3 on TRT1 between 2011 and 2013, then seasons 4-7 on the streaming platform Exxen between 2021 and 2023.
Leyla and Mecnun were born in the same hospital and shared the same crib because of a shortageâÂÂhence the series' catchphrase, "They found each other from the beginning". They were named after the legendary lovers Layla and Majnun. Mecnun, a confused 25-year-old from a middle-class family, lives in an historic Istanbul neighborhood. Mecnun falls in love with Leyla at first sight, and becomes obsessed with her. Leyla, from an upper-class family, leads a different life than others in the neighborhood. She enjoys the time she spends with Mecnun, since life is more interesting with him. After Leyla's death, Mecnun becomes depressed. He tries to change the past. Leyla's parents donated her organs. Mecnun meets other 4 Leylas.
In the classic story of Layla and Majnun, after being prevented from marrying, Qays, who is renamed Majnun ("the madman"), is driven mad by his love and flees to the desert.
Other notable characters in the series are Dede, Iskender, Ismail, Erdal, Yavuz, and Arda. Dede, a character in Turkish folktales, appears in dreams to provide direction and foreknowledge. A surrealistic element of the show, Dede appears in one of Mecnun's dreams; when Mecnun wakes up, he sees Dede standing by his bed. Afterwards, he lives with Mecnun to help him with Leyla.
Iskender, Mecnun's father, drives an unreliable taxi and is devoted to his family. To make his son happy, he asks Leyla's father for permission for Leyla and Mecnun to marry despite repeated refusals.
Ismail, Mecnun's closest friend, is a colorful character who is loyal and pure at heart. It is learned in one episode that Ismail and his father were abandoned by his mother because her life was not colorful enough. Ismail takes this literally, and dresses accordingly. He was adopted by another family when his father became terminally ill. His father told Ismail that he was leaving to work as a seaman and would return someday, waving from the ship; since then, Ismail has been waving to passing ships every day from the shore. Nothing is known about Ismail's personal life or where he lives. He frequently changes jobs, failing at (or disliking) each one. Ismail is interested in genealogy, and notable people from the past (such as Beethoven, Picasso and Dostoyevsky) appear in his flashbacks as his distant relatives during most episodes.
Erdal is the neighborhood grocer, whose work defines his life. Sometimes greedy and inconsiderate, he neglects his friends and is tactless and pessimistic. With supermarkets springing up everywhere, Erdal personifies an endangered element of traditional Turkish society. His grocery store is a gathering place for the characters.
Yavuz, a friendly neighborhood thief, describes himself as a "performance artist". His justifications for stealing vary by episode and include helping his blind girlfriend, helping his friends and unrequited love. Yavuz' talents are used to benefit the neighborhood; he resents being called a thief, and always retorts: "Am I such a person?" He enjoys reading poetry.
Arda, Leyla's classmate, is also in love with her and his wealthy father tries to persuade her to marry his son. Arda, his father and their servants are the show's main antagonists.
"Leyla, Leyla, Leyla ... Everyone is Leyla, Yavuz! Literally! I guess only my mom is not named Leyla ... Actually, let me go ask her ..." says Mecnun in one episode. These are the series' significant Leylas, in chronological order:
Also, Soundtrack of "Leyla ile Mecnun". It's composed of "Leyla ile Mecnun" actors: Ali Atay, Onur ÃÂnlü, Serkan Keskin, Osman Sonant, Fñrat ðkisivri, Sarp AydñnoÃÂlu, Sarper Aksoy. Group's tour "Leyla ile Mecnun'a Veda & Ben de ÃÂzledim'e Merhaba" in 2013.
Screenwriter of series, Burak Aksak, published "Leyla ile Mecnun" in April 2018. He stated that this book has different final.
Leyla ile Mecnun was expected to be renewed for a new season. However it was cancelled after casts' support to the Taksim Gezi protest. The same actors filmed the TV series "Ben de ÃÂzledim" (2013-2014) about actors, screenwriter, director who have their TV series cancelled. The first episode of Ben de ÃÂzledim tells the finale of Leyla ile Mecnun, but Ben de ÃÂzledim is cancelled after 13 episodes.
In the unbroadcast finale of the show, it was in series Bende ÃÂzledim. Short version of this scene released in 4 season of Leyla ile Mecnun.
It was to be revealed that Mecnun actually had an accident when he was a child, leaving him permanently bedridden. He could not talk or move. His mother left, and his father cared for him. In reality, the entire TV series had taken place in Mecnun's imagination.
There is more of a meaning to the characters and only some of them were translatable.
While Mecnun is sleeping, a tree leaf would wave through the window; this tree leaf is supposed to represent Yavuz. Mecnun can only see the tree's leaves shadow waving through the window; this is a reason as to why Yavuz in the show almost always goes into houses through the windows. Yavuz, the tree, was planted right in their back garden by Iskender and also gave its name.
Dede is a syringe that a doctor regularly injects to Mecnun. It is a medicine fighting diseases inside Mecnun. In the show, he fights negative thoughts by trying to get rid of them via talking.
Ismail is abgold fish Mecnun watches. Ismail is regularly in his bowl.
Leyla is MecnunâÂÂs first grade crush. However, he has never seen Leyla nor talked to her as he has only heard her name. The reason why Leyla changes through the series is because Mecnun, while watching TV, sees different women so he assumes that that one of those women which he likes is named Leyla.
The living room seen in the show is where he usually is at so most of his life he is in this room.