It feels good to come across a decent comedy-drama about a woman trying to find a solution to a problem she is sure does not exist. Like magical realism, any movie that seamlessly takes the audience from one world to another without any awful edits would be a good one to watch. “Oh Belinda” is one such film about a movie star who happens to agree to do a shampoo commercial, but the commercial ends up taking her to another world. How does the woman cope with the change of name and personality in this world?
Spoilers Ahead
Dilara’s Life
The movie begins with a music video being launched with Dilara in it. The music video is a stamp of approval that she is the star of the movie industry, and nothing can stop her from ascending. She is overjoyed to have achieved what she has so far. She has a boyfriend named Serkan, and they love each other a lot. Dilara has doubts about him having an affair with Arzu, her frenemy from the industry, but he always lets Dilara know that she is the love of his life. Dilara is offered to do a shampoo commercial for the brand Belinda. The script that comes to her makes her laugh out loud because it includes an elaborate scene by the leading lady named Handan, a housewife who finds peace and solace while shampooing her hair after a long day at work. Dilara finds the idea for the ad to be ridiculous because why would the brand want to include an elaborate story? The ad filmmaker is her friend and tries to reason with her, but she is livid. She tries to back away from the commercial when she is made aware that backing away would cost her a lot of money, so she sticks with completing the commercial. This does not change her nature, for she comes across as a person who is proud of her position in the cinema industry, but she knows she is a hard worker as well. Dilara considers herself to be a talented woman, and she is not going to let anyone make her feel bad about her success.
Change Of Scenario
Dilara is on the set of the commercial, and she is already livid at the male actor who will be acting opposite her. He is very touchy and creepy. He is not just enamored by her beauty but is also going out of his way to act desperate in front of her. Dilara is uncomfortable in his presence, but she has no choice. As Dilara prepares for a crucial scene in the bathroom, where she is shown washing her hair using the Belinda shampoo, the ad filmmaker is concerned about Dilara getting it right. The director finally explains in detail what he wants her to do as Handan, the leading lady in the ad. Dilara finally gets into the skin of the character, closes her eyes to thoroughly wash her hair, and performs as per the instructions given by the director. She opens her eyes to find herself in a different place, not on the set of the ad film. Dilara has just had the character explained to her, and she is happy to have nailed the character Handan. Dilara is not sure what happened, but she will have to find out if there has been some change of location that she didn’t know of. Will Dilara come to terms with this big change that she has just gone through?
‘Oh Belinda’ Ending Explained – Did Dilara Basaran Come Out Of The Parallel World? Was She Dreaming?
As Dilara opens her eyes, she realizes she is at someone else’s home. The place looks unfamiliar to her, and she has no idea how she ended up there. Dilara is confused about how she got here when she was on the other set. She is finding it hard to comprehend what just happened to her. Dilara knows as she steps into this home that she will have to get back to her set. Necati, her husband from her commercial, starts referring to her as Handan and starts having a conversation as if they have been married for years. Dilara is not sure what is happening to her, and it seems like an elaborate prank on her. Necati keeps insisting that they are married, and that she has been his wife, Handan, for many years. Dilara is not coming to terms so quickly with this change of scenario.
She runs to Serkan, hoping to get answers from him, but it turns out that he does not recognize her, and he is right now married to her rival, Arzu. For Serkan, right now, she is an intruder who’s walked into his home. Serkan and Arzu have become the most popular couple in this parallel world. Dilara’s life has made a 180-degree flip, and she has no way to go back to her old life where she is a popular actress. She also ends up meeting her friends from the film world, but none of them recognize her.
Dilara ends up going back to her “husband,” Necati, who cannot think of anything else but to just sleep with her. He thinks of her as the most beautiful woman he has come across, and he cannot keep himself from touching her all the time. This scares her a lot, and Dilara now, as Handan, has to find ways to make sure to keep Necati at bay. With this husband, she has two kids, and she knows her problems have just increased because, as Necati’s wife, she is expected to be a homemaker who takes care of the household and the kids as well. The traditional family is something she has become a part of, and she has no clue how to get out of it. She is constantly badgered by the kids, her husband, and his family, and she finds it difficult to deal with them. This is not the life she had envisioned for herself.
In trying to find ways to get out of this scenario, she comes across various ideas, but she ends up reaching a dead end. She soon comes to know that Handan works for a bank as per the ad as well, and she goes to her place of work only to realize that in this world, she is having an affair with Akif, her boss and her brother-in-law. Dilara, as Handan is finding it hard to comprehend what is happening to her, is settling in and letting it sink in that a miracle can only make sure she goes back to living the life she was leading before.
Dilara watches as Handan comes to know that Akif and herself have stolen a lot of money from the bank, and he is expecting her to give it back. Dilara is not sure where the bag has been kept because whatever has happened to her so far has affected her memory. She finds the money in her bedroom and decides to keep it for herself because why not? Dilara knows her only way to go back to Serkan is to get in touch with him and make herself part of the acting community once again because this is what she has always loved. On meeting Serkan, she realizes he is indeed a playboy who does not hesitate before sleeping with her. She uses it as an opportunity to let her meet the theater group, where she ends up giving a killer audition. Dilara, as Handan is called, is happy to have gotten into the field of her interest, and she starts spending a lot of time doing rehearsals for the play. Dilara being an actress, taking part in the theater in this world helps her get in touch with a version of herself that she misses a lot. Dilara knows getting back to acting would also mean she could get closer to Serkan.
Dilara, unfortunately, ends up meeting with an accident that leads to her car damaging public property. She ends up getting reprimanded by the police for the accident, and because of that, she is unable to make it to the final rehearsals of the play. Her accident cost her a big role, which could have been a breakthrough all over again for her to prove her acting skills. On reaching the venue on the day of the play, she is told that she has been replaced by her junior. Dilara, who is known as Handan to everyone in this world, cannot believe her luck has gone against her yet again. She wanted to showcase her acting chops, and this probably would have been her stepping stone to becoming an actress again in this world. She did not care what Necati expected from her as a spouse, but all she knew was that she had to get back to acting. Livid at her luck, Dilara goes to the corniche with her bag of money she had acquired from Akif, and she throws the money out in the air for people to relish it. Dilara’s act of defiance comes as a way to let herself go. She was done being Necati’s dutiful wife and wanted to be someone more than she was expected to be. The money that symbolizes the corrupt version of herself is gone. The last scene of “Oh Belinda” has the rain falling profusely in the city, and Dilara is content to know that the money’s gone and she probably will have to love this life after all.
As the rain keeps falling on her, Dilara opens her eyes to see she is back on the set of the commercial, and everyone around her knows who she is. Dilara is not sure of what transpired but she is back to her normal life, where things seem exactly as they did before she left. Her experience felt like a nightmare, and she is glad to be out of it. She still does not understand what happened to her and why her mind and body took her to that other side of life. The experience of it will possibly live with her forever. Dilara is just as hopeful about not wanting to go back to a world where her life has no value. She was probably dreaming the whole situation, keeping in mind that a few minutes before getting into the scene, the director described the whole scene quite vividly, which led to her falling into a world that is like what the ad explains. There is no way she could have been in two worlds at the same time. Dilara is just happy to be back to her reality, which is being a popular actress.
Final Thoughts
The movie had no exquisite charm to keep the audience engaged from the start to the end. The story had a touch of magical realism, but it refused to go beyond a point, and the narrative felt like it was repeating itself to prove that Dilara hates her life in this world. The direction and the performances of the lead are decent and watchable but not good enough to keep the film afloat. If only “Oh, Belinda” had the charm of “Midnight in Paris,” where, again, the lead character is transported to another world repeatedly. The screenplay must have some depth to understand why the character is unhappy. There is no specific reason mentioned why Dilara hates the life in the world she is transported to. Her life as an actress in the real world gave her privileges, but that is not enough to explain why she hates being in the parallel world. There had to be layers in Dilara’s story to make us understand her frustration. All of these were missing, making “Oh, Belinda” a mediocre film.
“Oh Belinda” is now streaming on Netflix with subtitles.
