The makers of Turkish serial, Dirilis Ertugrul, have expressed joy over the serial’s soaring popularity in Pakistan. Having being broadcasted in several countries in multiple languages, Pakistan’s state-owned media channel PTV is broadcasting the serial in the Urdu language now. PTV began its broadcast from 1st Ramadan.
Dirilis Ertugrul (Ertugrul Ghazi) has brought massive viewership to PTV in the past two weeks. With the larger-than-life depiction of Muslim warriors and rulers, serial Ertgurul Ghazi has become a craze in Pakistan.
Dirilis Ertugrul hopes to set a new record
Hence, the makers have reacted to the overwhelming response to the serial. They say that the team of Dirilis Ertugrul is excited to receive an enormous response from the audiences in Pakistan.
Riyad Minty, the director of the digital of Turkish state-owned media Turkish Radio & Television (TRT), spoke to BBC Urdu on the subject. He is head of the team working with PTV to broadcast Dirilis Ertugrul in Urdu dubbing.
Let’s get 🇵🇰 the world record for most new subscribers in 1 month on YouTube. The current record is 6.6 million and the channel Ertugrul Ghazi can beat that with your ❤️! We have 15 days to make history. Subscribe: https://t.co/Mqr93UOBwr -use the tag #ErtugrulYouTubeRecord pic.twitter.com/kjJGE797DB
— tabii Urdu (@tabiiur) May 8, 2020
“Ertuğrul has gone viral in Pakistan and its episodes are trending on YouTube in Pakistan every day,” said Minty. The YouTube channel has more than 30 million views and over 600,000 subscribers. “These numbers are expected to climb up in the coming days”, says Minty
Read more: Ertugrul Ghazi breaks popularity record, PM’s idea revives PTV
Before making waves in Pakistan the serial made waves in more than 60 countries and roughly up to 146 countries. An action-adventure series is available on online streaming service Netflix in English subtitles. Now, PTV and TRT are looking forward to setting a record of most new subscribers on YouTube in a month. Hence, they are encouraging people to subscribe to the channel, to achieve the landmark in the remaining fifteen days of Ramadan.
Our show @TRTErtugrul_EN is currently trending number 1 on @YouTube in Pakistan. 15+ million views in a few days since we launched the Urdu show with dubbing from @PTVHomeOfficial – if you’re an Urdu speaker watch here: https://t.co/02Wvt2ubeP #Eyvallah #Ertugrul pic.twitter.com/iOXQ2YQ4o0
— Riyaad Minty (@Riy) May 3, 2020
What is Dirilis Ertugrul?
The popular Turkish serial, ‘Dirilis Ertugrul’, (Resurrection Ertugrul) also knows as ‘Turkish Game of Thrones‘ took the international audience by storm. 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 the 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 the Ottoman empire.
It is a serialized tv production by Turkish Radio and TV (TRT-1) and was the first broadcast in December 2014. Given its huge popularity, it kept increasing its episodes. However, the exact number is not known because Turkish episodes were often of two-hour duration, but Netflix cut it to 42-45 minutes per episode.
Why it is popular?
The popularity of Dirilis Ertugrul in Pakistan and the Muslim world stems from the outrageous and negative depiction of Muslims in Hollywood and Bollywood. This negative depiction over the years triggered Islamophobia. The grim depiction of Muslims in the world’s leading entertainment industry has indoctrinated masses with hate and bigotry for Islam and Muslims. This controversial content spiked anti-Muslim hate speech, discrimination against Muslims, and vilification of Islam as ‘the religion promoting terrorism’.
Undeniably, the anti-Muslim content stereotyped Muslims as terrorists. Perhaps, Muslims craved for a powerful and positive depiction in media globally. And Dirils Ertugrul seems to have satiated that desperation to see a glorifying depiction of Muslims.
Let’s see if this possible #Pakistan – we’ve had more than 6 million people visit the channel already, but we need you to *subscribe* to get the record for most subscribers in one month! #Ertugrulgazi #ErtugrulUrduPTV #ErtugrulGhazi #ErtugrulYouTubeRecord https://t.co/yzV3jcT1TD
— Riyaad Minty (@Riy) May 8, 2020
Dirilis Ertugrul-a historic romantic fiction serial about a Turkish nomadic leader, Ertugrul, in the 13th century. He is also the father of Osman – the founder of the majestic Ottoman Empire. The lead character of Ertgurul, played by Turkish actor Engin Altan Duzyatin, stands by justice, mercy, and wisdom against oppression, cruelty, and barbarianism.
Read more: Ertugrul: Turkish Game of Thrones, An inspiration to rebuild the Islamic Empire
The series revolves around Erturgrul’s fight against invading Mongols, Byzantines Empire, and Knight Templar crusaders. The hard and life-threatening struggle to save the identity of Muslim Oghuz tribes and a desire to have a homeland. Despite set in the 13th century, the events in the serial resonate with the dilemmas of the current century.
Dirilis Ertgurul emphasized the role of Muslim scholar and Islamic jurisprudence to give unique and well-thought solutions to problems faced by the characters. Moreover, these solutions influence from the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Hazrat Ali (RA) because of Turkish founders of Ottoman empire as them as patrons and guides