After criticising PTV for airing Turkish drama Dirilis Ertugrul, Yasir Hussain has now raised concerns over Esra Bilgic been made an ambassador of a Pakistani brand.
Pakistan’s QMobile announced that Bilgic is their next brand ambassador. Bilgic essays the role of Halima Sultan in the Turkish drama.
Sharing the snipped of the news, Hussain took to Instagram and asked why Bilgic has been made the ambassador of a Pakistani brand. Should not a Pakistani brand choose a local brand ambassador, he asked.
In another story on the same issue, Yasir asked if Pakistani celebrities were not worthy enough to endorse local brands. “Is Mahira, Saba, Sonya, Minal, Aiman, Amar, Zara, Haniya, Sana, Yumna, Armeena, Sara, Hira… anyone not worthy enough to be a brand ambassador for a Pakistani brand?”
He said that everyone should support Pakistani actors. Hussain also explained why wife Iqra Aziz’s name wasn’t on the list.
“I didn’t take Iqra’s name because she is already a mobile brand ambassador,” the actor said.
The celebrity Yasir Hussain twins Minal and Aiman Khan also agreed with Hussain’s statement and took to their Instagram stories to acknowledge what he said.
Bilgic is also rumoured to be the ambassador of PSL franchise Peshwar Zalmi as hinted by the owner himself.
However, actor Aagha Ali doesn’t really agree with Hussain. He took to Instagram to present a different point of view on the situation. “An actor always wants to get recognized internationally and everyone feels great when they get an offer from another country,” Ali said.
He remarked that when a foreign actor gets an offer from Pakistan ‘some people’ get offended that their jobs are being taken away.
Here is to mention that Hussain earlier raised concerns and said that when the same Turkish drama will run between 8pm and 9pm on a state-run channel PTV for the next two years, it will create joblessness for actors and local technicians.
He remarked that Pakistan actors should let outsiders feel welcomed and should also stop making the local actors feel insecure.
In another story, Ali gave an example of Mahira and Fawad working in India. “We felt so bad when Fawad and Mahira had to leave all their signed projects/commitments and to return from India,” Ali recalled.
Earlier, Hussain said that Ertugrul Ghazi is a great show and he never had any reservations about its content. He does, however, have a problem with the fact that the Turkish show is being aired on national television.
Speaking to SAMAA Digital, Hussain said that the show’s content is genuinely good because it shows Islamic history which is also our own history. “But showing it on the state channel is not a great idea”.
According to Hussain, production of a state channel should be good enough for distribution in the whole world. He said that Pakistan is the only country in Asia making great shows on meagre budgets. The actor added that some of these shows have received acclaim in India.
The actor said that raising standards was not the job of the actor or the writer. Instead, major institutions like PTV should provide financial support for such innovation.
“If we pay taxes for PTV, then PTV should invest in local artists,” he said.
Originally Publish at: https://www.samaa.tv/