Daily Times

Esra Bilgiç became a household name in Pakistan with her portrayal of Halime Sultan on the popular historical series Dirili?: Ertu?rul, but it looks like her desi fans still expect her to stay in the character even beyond the screen.

The desi moral brigade has a rich history of marching on Esra’s Instagram and reminding her that she played Halime Sultan on Ertugrul – something they just can’t seem to get over.

Their obsession with the character has reached such levels that even two years after the series premiered in Pakistan at PM Khan’s request, they target Esra for her clothing choices and professional commitments other than Ertugrul. The only eye most Pakistani fans view Esra through is that of an Ertugrul viewer. Anything other than that is out of “moral bounds” for them.

Recently, Esra appeared in an ad for lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret and shared it on Instagram. In the comments section, however, there’s a glut of comments from Pakistani fans expressing their disapproval and leaving inappropriate remarks for the Turkish actor. They just can’t stand the sight of Esra not being Halime Sultan.

Anoushey Ashraf, who may have witnessed the entire spectacle online, confronted the grumbling desi fans and advised them to unfollow Esra if they had a problem with her professional choices.

“Why don’t men unfollow her?” remarked Anoushey. “Or just cover their eyes and only open them when they need to read, drive and watch TV?”

Pakistani fans should now realise that Esra has a life beyond Ertugrul.