Imran Khan explained why he wanted Dirilis Ertugrul to be aired on Pakistani TV channels in the meeting with bloggers in Islamabad.
Last year, in November a video of Imran Khan surfaced on social media in which he had asked Pakistani media to broadcast popular Turkish serial, Dirilis Ertugrul in the Urdu language. Ptv has started broadcasting it from this Ramadan through a special arrangement with Turkish state broadcaster, TRT-1.
What is Dirilis Ertugrual?
The popular Turkish serial, ‘Dirilis Ertugrul’, (Resurrection Ertugrul) also referred by fans as ‘Turkish Game of Thrones‘ took the international audience by storm with Venezuelan President also turning out to be its follower. The serial was first aired in Turkey in 2014. Within Turkey its part of AKP’s nation building project and is perhaps the most popular tv production in recent years. However, it is widely popular across the Muslim world and Middle East -despite a recent ban in Egypt and Gulf countries where it is being seen as part of the AKP’s quest to revive Ottoman empire.
Prime Minister Imran Khan shares his views over PTV telecast of famous Turkish drama serial Diriliş: Ertuğrul; it will make our youth learn about Islamic history and ethics pic.twitter.com/pymAPbJFLr
— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO) April 24, 2020
There are five seasons of Dirilis Ertugrul – Only first three seasons were released on Netflix the global video streaming platform. Within Turkey season-5 may be released soon. Ertugrul is a historic romantic fiction serial about a Turkish nomadic leader, Ertugrul, in 13th century, who is supposedly the father of Osman – the founder of the majestic Ottoman Empire.
It is a serialized tv production by Turkish Radio and TV (TRT-1) and was first broadcast in December 2014. Given its huge popularity it kept increasing its episodes. Exact number is not known because Turkish episodes were often of two-hour duration, but Netflix cut it to 42-45 minutes per episode and most sources describe a total of 150 episodes – however given that 5th Season is about to be released the actual number may be much bigger.
A short video clip of Imran Khan from the interview has been released by the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Twitter in which he said serials like Dirilis Ertugrul will revive the forgotten Islamic traditions, values, and struggles faced by previous nations.
Why Ertugrul Ghazi is so popular in Turkey?
Dirilis Ertugrul has far-reaching popularity with audiences in 60 countries in South America, the Middle East, and South Africa. Series was written and produced by Mehmet Bozdug and directed by Metin Gunay from 2014 onwards. The theme music is by Alpay Goktekin. To help with choreography production teams from Hollywood were invited to Turkey. Serial has been shot in Riva, Turkey where a special set was produced for this purpose.
Read more: Imran Khan wanted Dirilis Ertugrul in Urdu language: PTV offered its service
In each episode, the Turkish producers disseminate both spiritual and life lessons by allowing principal characters to talk directly about moral dilemmas and their resolution.
A strong emphasis has been placed on the Muslim scholars, and Islamic jurisprudence bringing out unique and well-thought solutions to the complex problems faced by the characters. The solutions are based on the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Hazrat Ali as they are considered patrons and guides by the Turkish founders of the Ottoman empire.
What did Imran Khan say?
“We’ve always had content from Hollywood and Bollywood which was then being showcased here. A third end culture was being promoted. That’s why I want our youth to know the difference between our values and theirs through the serial Dirilis Ertugrul.
He went on to add, “We have a culture with romance and history as well, however, it is also filled with Islamic values. Sadly, the content from Bollywood is full of vulgarity, which wasn’t the case three or four decades ago.”
The premiere continued, “Drug culture, sex crimes are on a high. I want a different culture to be aired so our youth can know that there is a way of life apart from questionable shows that have been airing.”
Read more: Imran Khan’s favorite Turkish drama to be soon aired on PTV
Will Dirilis Ertugurl revive PTV?
After Dirilis Ertugrul, which is already proving a huge success, PM Khan wants PTV to broadcast another Turkish serial in Urdu-Younus Emre. Younus Emre was a famous Turkish poet and mystic Sufi who greatly influenced Turkish culture.
Dirilis Ertugrul has shattered popularity records in Pakistan. The serial is already a huge success for PTV with the broadcast of its first episode. As per the latest statistics shared by PTV, Ertugrul Ghazi is trending atop on Pakistan’s social media.
The first episode of Ertugrul Ghazi has received 318,000 views and still counting. Moreover, PTV Home has registered an exponential rise in its viewership and subscription on YouTube. PTV says 40,000 new subscribers have subscribed to PTV’s YouTube channel in a day.
ارطغرل غازی کی بےمثال مقبولیت۔۔ صرف ایک ہی قسط نے پاکستانی عوام کے دل جیت لیے:
*پی ٹی وی ہوم کے یو ٹیوب چینل میں ایک دن میں 40،000 کا اضافہ۔۔
*پہلے 16 گھنٹوں میں یو ٹیوب پر 234،000 دیکھا جانا۔۔
*حش ٹیگ #ErtugrulUrduPTV ٹویٹر پاکستان میں مسلسل 5 گھنٹے تک ٹاپ ٹرینڈ pic.twitter.com/oqxm4c8X8m— PTV Home (@PTVHomeOfficial) April 26, 2020
The first episode of Ertugrul Ghazi has received 318,000 views and still counting. Moreover, PTV Home has registered an exponential rise in its viewership and subscription on YouTube. PTV says 40,000 new subscribers have subscribed to PTV’s YouTube channel in a day.