LAHORE: Lahore residents have erected statues to commemorate a medieval Turkish leader, a sign of the growing popularity and cultural impact of a television series imported from Turkey depicting the origins of the Ottoman Empire.
The series, Ertugrul Gazi, which ran in Turkey until 2019, is loosely based on the story of a 13th century nomadic Turkish tribal leader who faced off against Mongols, crusaders and Byzantine rulers in what is now Syria and Turkey, the British cable service.
Two statues of Ertugrul have been placed in a residential area of the city. Muhammad Shahzad Cheema, the head of a private housing society, commissioned an image of Ertugrul, sword in hand on a rearing horse. "The statue is a reminder of our love for the Ottoman Sultanate and the jihad Ertugrul waged that brought us (Muslims) respect throughout the world," said Cheema.
Pakistan's state television began airing Urdu-denominated episodes of the program during Ramazan a few weeks ago and has since become the most-watched program broadcast by the outlet.
No television program has been able to move Pakistan like Ertugrul Gazi, said the director-general of national television, Aamer Manzoor. "People feel like it's the Turkish Game of Thrones game."
More than 58 million people watched the first episode on the state television YouTube channel in two months, and the entire show has had more than 250 million views, Manzoor said. Turkish state television waived royalties for the program.
Cheema said people came "from everywhere" to take selfies with his statue, installed on a local plan to rename Ertugrul. The program also received strong support from Prime Minister Imran Khan, who said it would help combat the "vulgarity" of Hollywood and Bollywood and promote family culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment.