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Ertugrul star hints at brand ambassador deal with Pakistan cricket franchise

July 10, 2020 at 2:43 pm

Turkish actress Esra Bilgic, 8 May 2020 [Esra Bilgic/Instagram]

Turkish actress Esra Bilgic, known for her portrayal as Halime Hatun, the lead character’s wife in the popular historical TV series Resurrection: Ertugrul is reportedly close to announcing that she will become a brand ambassador for one of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) biggest cricket franchise, Peshawar Zalmi.

On Sunday, Bilgic posted a tweet, tagging both the cricket team’s account and its chairman, Javad Afridi with the message that she will be sharing some “good news” soon.

Although no further details of the deal have emerged, she has previously expressed an interest in collaborating with several Pakistani brands. Also on Sunday, Bilgic shared a message in Urdu to her 3.7 million followers on Instagram in which she directed those interested in collaboration ideas and other projects to her Turkish management company.

READ: Egypt fatwa bans Ertugrul, Turkish soaps

The show has proven a hit in Pakistan where it is dubbed in Urdu and has even been endorsed by Prime Minister Imran Khan who said the country’s youth can learn “Islamic values” from it. Bilgic also has a large fan base from Pakistan. However the Express Tribune reported today that she had to mute the comments under a post of her in a bikini after falling prey to moral policing from trolls.

Turkey ranks second after the US in global TV series exports. Earlier this week, US rapper Cardi B took to Twitter to publish a series of cryptic tweets related to another popular Turkish Ottoman-era TV series called Magnificent Century. “I hate Nurbanu,” she said in one tweet, in reference to Nurbanu Sultan who was the chief consort of the Ottoman Sultan Selim II.

Cardi B also replied to a fan who favoured the character Nuranbu, to which she voiced her support for the character called Hurrem who is one of the Sultan’s concubines.

READ: Soap operas, fatwas and censorship: the Turkey-UAE battle for hearts and minds