Pakistanis lose it over ‘un-Islamic’ Instagram of ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ star

With hit Turkish series ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ continuing to grip Pakistan ever since it was released in the country in Urdu on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s advice to “help youngsters connect with their roots”, the Instagram handle of one of the show’s stars has left many in the country “disappointed”.

As praise pours in for the historical fiction over the internet by both celebrities and general public, fans have started following the show’s actors on social media.

Amid all the hype, a group of fans, who apparently do not understand the concept of acting, is having a meltdown because actors, who play different characters in the show based in the pre-Ottoman era, are much different in their real lives of the 21st century.

Among these characters is Halime Sultan played by Esra Bilgiç, who a couple of weeks ago posted on her Instagram a picture that wasn’t very well-received by her fans in Pakistan.

View this post on Instagram

“ Sunset on the boat “ by Omer Sedat Yenidogan. ‘19

A post shared by Esra Bilgiç (@esbilgic) on Mar 25, 2020 at 7:11am PDT

Here are some of the reactions by Pakistanis:

Some also apologised on behalf of their countrymen:

Meanwhile, owing to the show’s popularity in Pakistan and after hitting millions of YouTube subscribers, the team behind the series has urged fans for more subscriptions in order to hit the world record for “most subscribers on YouTube in a month”.