Minister says foreign dramas will ruin Pakistani entertainment industry

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry became the latest person to jump on the Ertugrul debate when he said that foreign dramas will have a ‘devastating’ long-run effect on the domestic entertainment industry.

On a social media website Twitter, the federal minister exclaimed his ‘surprise’ at the PTV for “taking pride in other countries productions”.

“Surprised on @PTVHomeOfficial taking pride in other countries productions, you guys must focus on Pak productions otherwise foreign dramas ll ruin Pak productions, its always cheap to import foreign dramas but this ll have devastating long term effect on our own programming,” he wrote on his official Twitter account.

Surprised on @PTVHomeOfficial taking pride on other countries productions,you guys must focus on Pak productions otherwise foreign dramas ll ruin Pak productions,its always cheap to import foreign dramas but this ll have devastating long term effect on our own programming

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 31, 2020

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan personally recommended the nation to watch the globally acclaimed Turkish TV series “Diriliş: Ertuğrul”.

He not only recommending the popular serial but insisted that all five seasons should be dubbed in Urdu so that the general public can watch and understand.

‘Ertugrul Ghazi’ has became most popular among the people of Pakistan after state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) begun airing it on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to a statement issued by PTV, the first episode of the show was viewed by millions of people across Pakistan on PTV Home’s YouTube channel.

‘Ertugrul Ghazi’ was equally popular among women, children and adults in Pakistan, which was evident from social media trends, according to a public survey.

The statement said the number of daily phone calls, emails and other messages being received by the PTV is another proof of its popularity.

The story of ‘Ertugrul’ is based on the ascendance of Muslims in the 12th Century, their quests and great deeds.

After gaining sweeping popularity in the Middle East and South Africa, the Turkish television series ‘Dirilis: Ertugrul’ has become a monster hit in Pakistan.

Renowned actors such as Osman Khalid Butt, Bilal Ashraf and Mehwish Hayat have praised the show and called on Pakistani producers to come up with similar content.