EVERYONE's talking about ‘Nour', the Turkish serial nightly aired on MBC-4 that brings life across the Middle East to a standstill and has viewers shutting shop, shushing spouses, and even selling livestock in order to view the show undisturbed. Originally called Gümüs, the serial is about an aspiring fashion designer Nour (played by Turkish actress Songül ?den) who is married to Muhannad (played by Turkish model-actor Kivanç Tatlitug) after he loses the woman he loves in a tragic accident. Muhannad is then forced to marry Nour by his family. The series traces the trials Nour undergoes to win her husband's heart and to prove herself professionally. The serial dishes out the usual soap opera fare -- conniving relatives, corny romantic scenes, melodramatic acting and amateurish effects -- which struck a chord among viewers in the Middle East when MBC began airing a dubbed Arabic version four months ago, although it bombed miserably in native Turkey. Apparently, what's sparked the mass -- mostly female -- hysteria is the character Muhannad. Not only is he reported to be “a cuter version of Justin Timberlake”, he is the epitome of a romantic, supportive spouse -- a species that's in short supply in the Middle East. The serial's popularity goes beyond swooning women -- it is also a business success story with restaurants, coffee shops and clothing stores displaying posters of the serial's lead couple to attract business. In spite of the recent edict describing such serials as “malicious”, there seems to be no end in sight to the serial's mass appeal -- in Saudi Arabia alone, one in seven people tunes in every night.
