“King of the Doormen” (Kapıcılar Kralı) is a 1976 Turkish comedy film directed by Zeki Ökten. The film’s main character is Seyit, a doorman of an apartment building in Istanbul viewing him played by Kemal Sunal. Like any other resourceful person, Seyit understands the social structure of the apartment building, not above breaking the rules there. This practice of his leads to a conflict with the building’s new superintendent, Zafer Bey (Bilge Zobu).
Among the secondary characters, we may note Sevda Ferdağ, portraying Mahir’s partner, and Şevket Altuğ as an alcoholic who lives in the same area. It focuses on the problems of class relations in urban life as depicted in Turkey in the 1970s.
In Turkey, “King of the Doormen” has met all expectations, gathering Best Director Award for its Zeki Ökten and Best Actor Award for Kemal Sunal during the 1977 International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. For critics and more fans of Turkish cinema, it is interesting to know that it was in this film that Sunal’s wonderful outrageousness was fully revealed, giving birth to almost 100 percent of the characteristics found in the book 100 Yılın 100 Türk Filmi by critic Atilla Dorsay.
Since November 2024 it has been possible to view the film through certain channels engaged with Turkish movies. Along with being remarkable and unique, it is not easy to find in the Indian city of Delhi and viewers are encouraged to try and look on local platforms for films or film festivals.
I encourage you to take as a visual impression the official trailer below in order to make an introduction with the plot. In this regard, you may foresee the immense review that the film is already on its way of making.