Turkish actors Emin Günenç, İlsu Demirci reveal the one Bollywood star they both love: Aamir Khan | Interview

The actors recently spoke to Hindustan Times about Arafta and how they have watched Aamir Khan's work previously.

Turkish drama Arafta: Bound by Fate has built a global following, with India emerging as one of its biggest audiences. Its lead stars Emin Günenç and İlsu Demirci have also become familiar faces among Indian viewers. The actors recently spoke to Hindustan Times in their first joint interview in India, discussing the show's growing popularity in India, the love they have received from fans, their plans to visit the country and their familiarity with Indian cinema. And when Bollywood came up, both actors had the same name on their minds: Aamir Khan.

Arafta stars Emin Günenç, İlsu Demirci on India love and the Aamir Khan films they watched growing up.

Arafta stars talk about their Indian fans

Arafta has found a strong audience globally but also in India, with viewers following the Turkish drama on YouTube and streaming platform Prime Video's MX Player. Its growing reach has also introduced its lead stars, Emin and İlsu, to fans far beyond Turkey.

The response from India has been especially meaningful for the actors. Emin and İlsu admitted that they are not very familiar with the wider Indian entertainment industry, but there was one Bollywood star they both knew well. When asked about Indian cinema, both immediately mentioned Aamir Khan, recalling his films from when they were younger. Aamir's movies have long travelled beyond India, earning audiences in countries including China, South Korea and Turkey.

Emin said, “Honestly, Ilsu and I are both very curious about India. We receive so many incredible messages from Indian fans—I even heard that I made it onto the main television news there! If we ever receive an invitation, we would absolutely love to visit India and meet everyone. As for Indian cinema, the one actor I know and whose films I’ve watched is Aamir Khan.”

İlsu shared a similar sentiment, saying, “I'm the same—I only really know Aamir Khan from watching his movies when I was younger. While I don’t actively follow any Indian series right now, I am very curious about the country. We know we have a massive fanbase there, and I would love to go see it all in person one day.”

A marriage that begins with revenge

Arafta centres on Ateş Karahan (Emin Günenç), a wealthy man who returns with one goal: revenge. Haunted by a painful childhood, he blames a family for what happened to him and sets out to make them pay. His plan takes an unexpected turn when he crosses paths with Mercan Yıldırım (İlsu Demirci), who is already dealing with problems within her own family.

Ateş offers Mercan a way out of her difficult situation, but there is a catch. She must agree to a 187-day contract marriage with him. Though this begins as a carefully planned arrangement, it soon becomes far more complicated. The marriage is meant to hurt Mercan's father, but spending so much time together forces both of them to confront feelings they never expected. Their relationship shifts between anger, attraction, mistrust and moments of vulnerability, gradually becoming the heart of the series.

The family drama around Ateş and Mercan is further expanded by the show's ensemble cast. The Season 2 cast includes Aleyna Çalışkan as Eylül Aslan and Serdar Yıldırım as Hazar Bozbey, along with returning actors Ezgi Dalgıç as Aslı Taner, Pervin Mert as Müzeyyen Taner and Işıl Mete as Nermin Yıldırım.

The ensemble also features Çağrı Baylan as Cemal Ahlatlı, İlay Karataş as Demet Keseroğlu, Dilek Güler as Zahide Erman, Alp İlkman as Yaşar Kaya, Virat Sefer as Malik Hamed, Bilge Yılmaz as Çiçek Güneş, Betül Asel as Zehra Özsoy, Volkan Yıldırım as Burak Yıldırım, Arda Şanlı as Berat Güneş, Şebnem Tumba Yıldırım as Binnaz Güneş, Serhat Duran as Abdo and Gülten Güneş as Saliha.

Arafta is produced by Rains Pictures, the Turkish production house known for shows such as Rüzgarlı Tepe and Kan Çiçekleri. The series was developed in collaboration with Mumbai-based GoQuest Media, bringing together Rains Pictures' experience in Turkish drama with GoQuest Media's international distribution network.

Aamir Khan's work

Aamir was last seen on the big screen in Sitaare Zameen Par, a sports drama billed as a spiritual successor to his 2007 film Taare Zameen Par. He played a coach with a more humorous and arrogant streak, marking a different side of the actor. This was the remake of Spanish movie Campeones.

His production house, Aamir Khan Productions, also backed Lahore 1947, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and starring Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta and Shabana Azmi. The period drama released on August 13, 2026.

Up next, Aamir is expected to start shooting Ashutosh Gowariker's Lalkaara in October 2026. The sports biopic is based on the life of legendary cricketer Lala Amarnath and is reportedly eyeing a December 2027 release. There has also been buzz around a possible sequel to 3 Idiots.