Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy speaks against Esra Bilgiç becoming the new face of Peshawar Zalmi, but why?

After the Diriliş: Ertuğrul series was aired in Pakistan on Prime Minister Imran Khan's suggestion, the popularity of Turkish TV stars has skyrocketed in Pakistan.

Esra Bilgic, who played the character of ‘Halime Sultan’ in the popular historical drama, gained much fame due to her exceptional acting skills and God-gifted beauty.

The Turkish actors started to acknowledge the love and attention being given to them by Pakistani fans, and few of them visited the country as well.

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A post shared by Esra Bilgiç (@esbilgic)

Esra Bilgic soon begin to receive projects in Pakistan and we saw her in Jazz commercials, as well as Khaadi’s. 

This week, Esra shared a picture of Islamia College Peshawar, captioning it: ‘City of flowers’ that took Pakistan by storm with everybody assuming she was in the country.

Last year, the owner of the Peshawar Zalmi franchise, Javed Afridi, had announced that he will be making the 28-year-old as their brand ambassador for the sixth season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) that is just around the corner.

Since then, some Pakistani actors and filmmakers have come out to say giving domestic projects to a foreign celebrity might not be appropriate, as it deprives local artists from potential employment.

After Yasir Hussain-Ertugrul saga, Canadian-Pakistani journalist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has expressed her concerns on social media and said, “I find this hilarious! A Turkish actress whose country doesn’t even play the sport will now be a mascot for cricket.”

She added, “What happened to Pakistani actresses by the way? Did they all disappear that we have to get foreign ones? Whatever is left of our industry will die if you keep paying Turkish actors for jobs Pakistani actors can do!”

It started a debate, with an Instagram user asking the Oscar-winner why she gave work to foreign artist herself. To this, the Emmy-winner responded: “You don’t know anything about the industry. How can you say it’s good for Pakistan? We have a very small industry that we have to protect,” she continued. “Once we grow, we can open up.”

“This isn’t about close-mindedness or jealousy. This is being practical given the resources we have. Since most of you don’t care about the Pakistani film industry, let me lay it out for you. If you stop sponsoring your own actors and actresses, whatever is left of the industry will die. But trolls like you don’t care that you can take a punt at me! Good luck with that."

Sharmeen, 42, is known for her work in films that highlight the inequality with women. She is the recipient of two Academy Awards, six Emmy Awards and a Knight International Journalism Award.