Turkish dramas like Mera Sultan have been quite popular amongst masses in Pakistan, but the way Dirilis Ertugrul in Urdu dub has been praised by the viewers is outstanding. 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, Dirilis Erygrul is now a hot topic for debate on Twitter.

The recent wave of discussion surrounding the Turk drama started with Yasir Hussain criticizing Pakistan Television Network (PTV). In an Instagram post, the actor shared his thoughts:

"PTV should make a historical drama using own artists and technicians. [And] those artists who pay tax and are very capable. Clothes from flea markets and Turkish dramas, both are destroying our local industry," he wrote and added, 'when someone would kick your brother out of the bank, your sister from school and your father from his job and give these positions to Turkish people, probably then you would realize what I'm saying. PTV is a national TV. Keep that in mind."

Yasir's strong comments were immediately taken up by Twitteratis and hashtag YaisrHussain started trending with some siding with the renowned Pakistani actor and others criticizing his criticism citing the sub-par quality of Pakistani content.

One Twitterati shared that the success of Ertugrul amongst Pakistani public is giving the actor nightmares and major complex:

I think this shows his sorry state of mind ... one Turkish play Has given him and many others a Major complex. I can’t believe they feel so damn threatened because of Ertugrul. #YasirHussain you can’t beat their plays even if you’re born again.

— SK (@BeingSNK) May 18, 2020

Another Twitter user raised the point that our artists in the past have claimed that art has no boundaries, why this change of heart then?

During pak-India tensions our actors came out with support of Indian content by saying “Art has no boundaries”. When our cinemas were full of indian movies because thy have to earn at that time our cultural values were not threaten. #Ertugrul

— Neha Malik (@Neha_Nacir) May 18, 2020

They also mentioned that in order for PTV to make a series as grand as Ertugrul, national TV needs to sustain itself first. The series was gifted by President Erdogan and PTV didn't pay any royalties to air the content, the user claimed.

The purpose of airing ertugrul was to remained us of our lost values and traditions which unfortunately we couldn’t realise by watching Shaan Movies (shareeka, Buddha gujjar etc) and dramas of yasir Hussain.

— Neha Malik (@Neha_Nacir) May 18, 2020

Yasir Hussain wasn't alone in raising the concerns, Laal Kabootar famed actor Mansha Pasha seconded him. She took to Twitter and shared:

"Those lambasting Yasir Hussain and calling the work in Pakistan "sub-par" seem to have forgotten what it takes to make content here. Even without any subsidy from the govt, even if u manage to gather ur own funds, ur projects can still bet banned or pulled off after clearance," she wrote and added, "Like Sarmad Khoosat's film "Zindagi Tamasha." Don't like the content here? Wonder why our content isn't as great as others? Because they have state patronage and we don't. And currently, we are giving state patronage to foreign projects. Go figure."

Those lambasting Yasir Hussain and calling the work in Pakistan "sub-par" seem to have forgotten what it takes to make content here. Even without any subsidy from the govt, even if u manage to gather ur own funds, ur projects can still bet banned or pulled off after clearance

— manshapasha (@manshapasha) May 17, 2020

Before Mansha, her fiancee and renowned social worker Jibran Nasir had also raised concerns about the cultural impact of airing Turkish dramas. In his tweets, Nasir said:

We've many beautiful cultures in Pak but many still face a identity crisis which is also seen in our diaspora. Being ourselves often causes "Goras" to confuse us as Indians due to our similarities so we mimicked Arabs tracing our roots to Bin Qasim. Now we're trying being Turks

— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) May 10, 2020

This isn't the first time Pakistani actors have raised voice against the airing of Turkish content. In 2012, Hamayun Saeed, Bushra Ansari, and Faisal Qureshi criticized the broadcasting of yet another famous Turkish serial Ishq e Mamnoon.