A plot twist we didn’t see coming. Turns out this is not the first time Turkish drama series Diriliş: Ertuğrul is being aired in Pakistan.
A Twitter user shared that the drama was dubbed and aired in Urdu five years back on Hum Sitaray.
The Current reached out to a representative of Hum TV, who confirmed this and said that the first season of the drama was aired in 2015 in Pakistan. He stated that Hum TV bought the rights of the show and dubbed it in Urdu. However, the show failed to catch the attention of the audiences because of which it was dropped after the first season. He further said that while the show was very popular in Turkey, when it was released in December 2014, it was not until it was released on Netflix in April 2017 that it gained international acclaim.
As for Pakistan, the show was thrust into the spotlight after Prime Minister Imran Khan recommended it and advised the youth to watch it.
Read more – Yasir Hussain likens Turkish dramas to ‘landay k kapray’
Set in 13th century Anatolia and based on the struggle of Ertuğrul Gazi, father of Osman I – the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, Diriliş: Ertuğrul has been trending ever since its first episode aired on PTV Home. Pakistanis are loving the drama series and it has become a sensation in the country. According to PTV, 133.38 million people have watched the drama series from April 25- May 14. PTV’s YouTube channel has also registered an exponential rise in its viewership with 3 million subscribers and episodes trending every day on the social media platform.
In an exclusive interview with The Current, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gifted the drama series to Pakistan as a goodwill gesture.
