Tribune Take: What made 2020 the year of 'Diriliş: Ertuğrul'

It was October 2019 when the Pakistani audience first became familiarised with the popular Turkish show, Diriliş: Ertuğrul. The period drama was introduced to the countrymen by none other than Prime Minister Imran Khan during a session about the content of local films and television.

He also stressed the need for better and more relevant storylines, ones that shed light on the heroes and events of Islamic history. Come December, PTV announced that it had acquired rights for the Turkish show and that shall be aired on the national TV with Urdu dialogues. And so, the obsession with the Turkish shows began.

While Khan called it the ‘Turkish Game of Thrones’, Ertuğrul Ghazi turned out to be a lot more than just that. At least for Pakistani pop culture. No combination of the Lannisters and Starks combined can outdo the obsession and following associated with the ladies and gentlemen of the Kayi Tribe; even in seven universes, let alone the seven kingdoms.

Here are eight ways the Bedouin soap became our biggest obsession.

On the orders of

In April this year, the premier shared that the tale of Ertuğrul Ghazi is all set to be dubbed in Urdu and aired on the state-run channel. Announcing the confirmation, the PM's office released a video of Khan interacting with the media as he shared his two cents on why Diriliş: Ertuğrul is a must-watch for the youth of the country. PM Khan had shared, "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."Apart from PTV, the show is also available on Netflix.

When Halime Sultan became our collective obsession

It wasn’t just the strong storyline that attracted the audience towards the brilliant show; a lot of the drama’s success can be attributed to a fine cast. Soon after the show was broadcast, Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s lead cast Engin Altan Duzyatan and Esra Bilgic, who essayed Ertuğrul Ghazi and wife Halime Sultan, became the talk of the town. The latter’s portrayal of the headstrong female lead grasped the audience’s attention and Esra managed to cast a spell on her Pakistani fan base. Her social media following grew exponentially.

Pakistani pity and piety

WWhile Esra could have anticipated the love, what she wouldn’t have imagined was the moral policing that followed. The actor, who has always been quite active on social media, was forced to turn off the comments on her Instagram account after she posted a racy picture or two. The fan obsession with the show's actors/characters exposed how we as a collective can’t tell between real and reel, that dark, albeit hilarious for-all-wrong –reasons side, exposed itself like all of our other contradictions.

Meme galore

— ABDULLAH KHILJI💕✨🥀 (@khiljiAbdullahk) April 30, 2020