A Round of Applause is a reality check for audiences about the existential crisis that we all have been facing in modern times. The Turkish drama helps us find meaning in the meaningless activities of the characters. Accomplished actors like Aslihan Gurbuz, Fatih Artman, and Cihat Suvarioglu have added to the charm of the series. Ben Oya has done an excellent job of successfully executing such an absurd theme, which wouldn’t have been possible without the skilled cast. Other imminent faces, like Cengiz Bozkurt, have also added special value to the drama, making it stand out amidst the other satirical dramas.
Zeynep
Aslihan Gurbuz, the winner of the Best Comedy Actress award for Yahsi Cazibe in 2011, has played the role of Zeynep in the series. She plays an over-loving mother who is pressured by society to maintain calm even when her newborn child goes missing. Eventually, she managed to reunite with her child, only to realize how shallow it was to bring a new life to the world. However, in the next couple of years, she slowly started getting distant from her husband and child because of her own insecurities. Zeynep thought that her husband didn’t understand her enough and missed her former bond with him, longing for him to understand her better.
Little did she realize that her rift with her husband (the way she insulted him in front of Metin) had a negative impact on her son as he grew up. She just couldn’t let go of her vulnerabilities and wanted to seek comfort in her husband. Zeynep was a complete failure as a mother and did not even realize how her unnecessary flattery spoiled Metin. Instead of motivating him to do better in life, she would often say that he was doing what was best for him, hampering his ability to explore himself further. She had been a trouble to Metin since she had him in her womb! Her bottled-up emotions damaged the psyche of her unborn child beyond repair. Her worthlessness as a mother was further proven by the toxic parenting methods that she chose. When Mehmet tried to rebuke him for not focusing enough on his studies or being a brat, she tried to safeguard him, which eventually led to him having a fickle mindset about his career and a clouded vision of life.
By the time Zeynep tried to mend her relationship with Metin, it was already too late. Things had already gone far out of her control. When she went to meet him at his panel and asked about the oldest memories that he had of himself, the regret was clear in her voice. She knew that she had failed both as a parent and as a wife. Her inner guilt had grown so much that it had eventually taken the form of a mental ailment.
It is possible that she poisoned Metin’s kefir, as she thought doing so would make Metin go back into her womb. Possibly, she really longed to start her relationship with Metin from scratch so that she could form a better bond with him and be a better mother this time. It is also possible that Zeynap had been able to understand that her son had been suffering, as he had not yet been able to decipher the true meaning of life, and hence decided to help him attain moksha.
Mehmet
Fatih Artman, who is known for his role in Behzat C. Ankara Yaniyor, has played Mehmet in A Round of Applause. He is portrayed as a righteous man who knows the laws of parenting better than his wife. Besides being a good father, he is also an excellent husband, supporting Zeynep in any decision that she makes. Despite his wholehearted support, his efforts are not recognized, and he is judged by her on the basis of being possessive (read: protective) of her. He is never the one asking for a divorce from Zeynep because he respects her and doesn’t tolerate Metin’s disrespect towards her. On the contrary, when Metin disrespects him, and Zeynep doesn’t do anything about it, he takes all of it silently. Mehmet is forgiving and accepting as a man, and he is the best that any woman could ever ask for! Unlike Zeynep, he always tried to correct Metin and pointed out his flaws so that he could work on them to become a better man in the future.
Mehmet was, however, not very expressive about his love for his family. The small things and sweet gestures that he made for them were often overlooked! He would often sit before Zeynep as she would meditate, sitting there eagerly to give her some update, but these small gestures had become very irritating for Zeynep, eventually affecting their married life. His existence as a father and a husband meant nothing for Zeynep, as she was always intent on finding the flaws in him. She was unable to accept the changes that had come to him over the years.
Metin
Cihat Suvarioglu has efficiently played the role of Metin in the series. He is also known for his roles in Butterflies and Interrupted. Metin had grown up to be a person with an unclear vision of life and an overwhelming existential crisis. Since an early age, he had witnessed an unsteady household, which had left a deep impact on his mind. Being born to a woman who kept all her feelings bottled up within her, Metin has been a victim of depression from an early age. Being in the womb of a woman who lacked even a single day of peace in her life had been really frustrating for Metin (even as a fetus).
He was so not ready to come into the world that he crawled back into his mother’s womb even after being born. The meaninglessness of life had hit Metin at a very early age, forcing him to become more mature than his years. He had a twisted philosophy about life and hence wrote nihilistic raps to present to his mother on her birthday. More than being concerned, his parents were scared of the pessimism (a gift of toxic parenting) that had clouded his mind at such a young age.
He finally grew up to have a clouded view of his life, choosing to become a DJ on the one hand, and then the very next day, he decided to leave his profession. His fickle-mindedness stemmed from the lack of security that he felt as a kid, as he grew up with the fear that his parents would get divorced someday. As predicted by Kudret (as a fetus), he had failed to find the true meaning of his life, finally deciding to find his way out of the wretched world. When he eventually came across his mother, she managed to help him get rid of a meaningless life.
Kudret
Cengiz Bozkurt plays the role of Kudret in the series. His role brings a significant twist to the series after he is introduced as a very wise fetus, advising Metin on the importance of finding one’s purpose in life. It is really uncanny as to how mature Kudret was, even as a fetus. It was as if he were an old soul who had changed multiple bodies to attain that amount of knowledge about life. He advised Metin that it was better to get miscarried if he couldn’t come up with the meaning of being born. In the modern age, pre-planning is extremely important to survive the rat race, which is what Kudret had been hinting at. He further told Metin that it was better to die now rather than become a failure in life and jump off a bridge later. Kudret seemed to be unnaturally advanced as a fetus and seemed to have all his plans aligned.
When Metin later came across Kudret, he was unable to recognize him. He thought that Metin was unnecessarily trying to pester him and tried getting rid of him. It is possible that he remembered Metin but did not want to reveal to the rest of the world that he knew a loser like Metin, as he was a successful novelist by that time.
Some of the other characters who added color to the series A Round of Applause were Ahu, Burak, and Sevda.
