As soon as Pakistan Television (PTV) aired popular historical Turkish drama Dirilis Ertugrul, based on the life of Ertugrul Gazi from  Kay? tribe of Oghuz Turks in 13th century, the step was both applauded and criticized. While it has attracted applaud and compliments from people of all walks for the grandeur – in which it presents the Islamic history or more specifically history of the Ottoman Empire – it also has stirred a debate about the cultural impact and possible effects of showing foreign content on the local industry. With names like Jibran Nasir, Yasir Hussain, and Mansha Pasha voicing their concerns and likes of Osman Khalid Butt, Mehwish Hayat defending it, Dirilis Erygrul is now a hot topic for debate on Twitter.

It seems like the controversy surrounding the airing of Ertugrul Gazi has reached Turkey too. When Pakistani actor Neelum Muneer took to Instagram to defend the serial, Ertugrul famed Turkish actor Gülsim Ali who plays Asl?han Hatun, thanked her for compliments and kind words. In an Instagram Post Neelum wrote:

"Even though I respect views of everyone in my fraternity but I feel it’s not the matter of Turkish content or Pakistani content. We should look beyond and understand that its Islamic content, which has so much wisdom and teaches us the history and the values of Muslims,” she said and added, "They gave their lives for justice and remained on Allah’s path. And they kept Islam alive. It’s like reading a book that is full of the great history of Muslims. Let’s just feel proud of our Islamic heritage and get motivated and also create content in Pakistan which we should also be proud of.”

 

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Even though I respect views of everyone in my fraternity but I feel it's not the matter of Turkish content or Pakistani content. We should look beyond and understand that its Islamic content, which has so much wisdom and teaches us the history and the values of Muslims. They gave their lives for justice and remained on Allah's path. And they kept Islam alive. It's like reading a book which is full of great history of muslims. Let's just feel proud of our islamic heritage and get motivated and also create content in Pakistan which we should also be proud of. Allah Kareem

A post shared by Neelam Muneer Khan (@neelammuneerkhan) on May 18, 2020 at 6:13am PDT

Neelum's sentiments were appreciated by many including Gülsim Ali, who responded to Munir on the post:
"Thank you Neelam Munir Khan. Thank you for the nice compliments. Love you and your heart is so beautiful, wish you all the best."

The exchange of these heartwarming compliments didn't stop there. In further comments, Neelum extended an invitation to the Turkish actor to which Ali responded that she hopes to come to Pakistan one day.

What do you think of this cutest exchange? Let us know in the comments below.