A fashion enthusiast with a business degree, Merve Kult struggled to find her perfect job. Her mother, Nevra, a retired journalist, wanted Merve to make use of her degree, but her daughter could not think beyond fashion. She applies for multiple jobs, but sadly, she never makes the cut. One evening after another round of unsuccessful job hunts, she met with her friends. Her best friend, Nil, was an entrepreneur and was always on the lookout for the next best business idea. While brainstorming, Merve proposed that they start a dating app where people could remain anonymous and connect solely on the basis of personality. Nil believed it was a great idea, and she started working on developing the app. You Do You is about Merve finding her true calling and dedicating herself to turning her dreams into reality.
Spoilers Alert
‘You Do You’ Plot Summary: What Happens In The Film?
Merve’s father owned the apartment building in which she and her mother lived. One fine morning, they received a notice stating that the building had been sold and that the new owner wanted them to evict the building in a month. Merve had assumed that the building either belonged to her or her mother, and she was shocked to learn that it was under her father’s name all along. She was all the more surprised when Nevra revealed that she never divorced Aytac, even though they had barely been in contact over the last fifteen years. Her father was in a relationship with another woman, and they even had a child. He had moved on, but Nevra never did. She did not divorce him out of spite. She wanted to make him suffer by not allowing him to remarry his partner. Merve was disappointed in her mother. It was her pettiness that has now cost them their house. Merve’s plan was to earn enough money to buy the property back, and the dating app was her only hope.
Meanwhile, the businessman who bought the property, Anil Gurman, had developed a special interest in Merve. He used to watch her from a distance, though his intentions were not clear. When he received the proposal to invest in their app called “Soulmates,” he noticed that Merve was one of the inventors, and he immediately agreed to meet the team. Before meeting her in his office, Anil intentionally ran into Merve and spilled the coffee she was carrying. He perhaps assumed that the coffee spill would tamper with her spirit, but instead, he was pleasantly surprised to see that she turned the spill into art and was ready for the meeting. Merve did not know that the man she met at the cafe was the investor. She was embarrassed, but Anil was not too bothered about it. He loved the pitch and immediately agreed to invest; moreover, he offered Merve a job at his ready-to-wear division. We later learn that Anil hated the app idea and invested just for the fun of it. After offering Merve the job, he asked Seza to treat her as her servant. Clearly, Anil’s intentions were questionable, but what was the reason behind his bitterness?
Why Did Anil Target Merve?
We eventually discover that Aytac had bought the building from Anil Gurman’s parents, and now that he had the money, he wanted to completely destroy whatever little Nevra and Aytac had. He believed Nevra was responsible for destroying his childhood. When Nevra confronted Anil after finding out about his connection with them, he accused her of breaking apart his family. Nevra refused to apologize for doing her job as a journalist; after all, it was Anil’s father who was running an illegal export ring, and all she did was bring it to light. After his father was arrested, Nevra and Aytac bought the building to help Anil’s mother pay off her debts.
Anil chose not to believe a word Nevra said, so she handed over a folder that consisted of customs records, photographs, tax returns, and invoices that implicated his father. Even with a folder full of evidence, Anil did not believe that his father was at fault. His father was not the only one running an illegal export ring, and he was convinced that Nevra targeted him because she was in love with him, and he never reciprocated her affection. Nevra was surprised by Anil’s allegation; she stated that his father was the one who was in love with her and had written several love letters addressed to her. She handed over the letters as well. Nevra was certain that she would rebuild her life even if the building was demolished, and she threatened Anil to stay away from her daughter. She had seen Anil and Merve get intimate, and she was worried about his cruel intentions behind it.
Anil and Merve had connected on ‘Soulmates,” and at a masquerade party, Merve found out that the wolf she spoke to was Anil. Merve and Anil are in love, but after Nevra warns him to stay away from her daughter, he ends his relationship with Merve. The next day, Merve lost her job, and she later found out that the app lost all its members because Anil created a subscription model and none of the users were interested in it. In the blink of an eye, everything that Merve loved about her new life was taken away from her.
‘You Do You’ Ending Explained: What Did Merve Do To Prove Her Worth?
Even though Merve had lost nearly everything (the building, the app, her job, and her love), she had the brand that she created online. Merve used to post her pictures online with a ‘you-do-you’ hashtag. People loved her fashion, and ‘you-do-you’ almost became a trend. She had millions of followers who believed in her, and when Nevra learned about it, she encouraged Merve to make good use of her brand. She had enrolled to participate in a fashion competition, and Nevra offered all her old clothes and asked Merve to upcycle them. While Merve had pretty much given up on life, her mother’s enthusiasm encouraged her to do what she loved— design clothes. She and Hamdi teamed up to create garments that were new age and exquisite.
Merve’s design immediately caught the attention of the audience and the fact that the people close to her model for her designs made it all the more special. Merve was selected to design her own collection. Meanwhile, after traveling to the mountains, Anil realizes that he must right the wrong and confess his feelings for Merve. Soon, the occupants of the building received a legal permit to continue living in the building. You do you ends with the wedding of Murat and Nil. After years of being in love, they decided that it was time to get married. While initially, their relationship was one-sided, in the end, Nil got down on her knees and proposed to Murat. As their friends celebrated their union, Murat noticed Anil. He warned Anil to stay away from his friends. And to teach him a lesson, he electrocuted him. The entire crowd watched Anil get down on his knees, and Merve tried to slap him out of shock. After recovering from the shock, Anil begged for Merve’s forgiveness. It was not easy for Merve to forget the lying and manipulation that she was subjected to. Anil admitted that he was blinded by revenge, and when he got to know Merve in person, he questioned his hatred. All his life, he was adamant about teaching Nevra and her family a lesson, but after meeting Merve, he struggled to execute his plans. He promised to support her and be his true self, but Merve needed more time to decide what she wanted.
At the end of You Do You, Merve decides to forgive Anil and gives him another chance to prove himself. Merve’s social media presence and designs made her an immediate success story, and the people who once tried to pull her down were now following her instructions. Even though, at one point, Merve was completely devastated by her life, in the end, she proved her worth and managed to make everything right.
