A group of Swat based Youtubers is ready to execute and release a Pashto version of the first season of popular Turkish historical series Dirilis Ertugrul. The series is going to be released after Eidul Fitr.
The young group is from Odigram, a historical town of Swat valley, and said they were inspired by the Turkish history series after PTV started broadcasting an Urdu dubbed version. The group is shooting at different locations in the Swat valley, with a majority of the scenes being shot at the seventh century archaeological site of Raja Gira Castle and 11th century Mahmood Ghaznavi Mosque, both of which are in Odigram town.
Muhmmad Abbas, who plays Ertugrul Ghazi, is also the producer of the drama. He is studying for his BS Mathematics degree at the Government Post Graduate Jahanzeb College and said that when he and his friends watched the Turkish series during the first wave of Covid-19, they were impressed by the story and action.
It has been shared that they made iron swords and leather jackets copied from the original Turkish series.
Muhmmad Abbas, who plays Ertugrul Ghazi, is also the producer of the drama. He is studying for his BS Mathematics degree at the Government Post Graduate Jahanzeb College and said that when he and his friends watched the Turkish series during the first wave of Covid-19, they were impressed by the story and action.
“It impressed us so much that we decided to remake the series in Pashto language with our own resources,” he told a private media channel, adding that they collected their pocket money and made wooden swords, axes, shields as well as jackets with low-cost materials but they were not durable.
The young men working in the drama are either students or shopkeepers and for them, Friday is the most convenient day to shoot since it’s their day off. He said that some roles were given according to the looks of their friends while others chose their roles themselves.
When they started shooting Ertugrul in Pashto and shared clips on social media, they attracted the attention of people from across the world.
