Pakistan’s New (Ertuğrul) Bey

Saima Haider usually has to cajole her husband to watch her favorite TV shows with her. But recently, the Lahore-based artist-turned-entrepreneur was in for a surprise. “He asked me to call him on his cell phone,” she said. “When I called, he started dancing to the tune of Ertuğrul title music.”

In Pakistan these days, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t recognize the distinctive opening chords of the rabab playing the theme song of the Turkish drama Diriliş: Ertuğrul (Resurrection: Ertuğrul). Haider’s husband finds himself sharing notes on the show with shopkeepers, plumbers, even the vet.

“Every other day someone asks him, ‘You, too?’ upon hearing his ringtone,” she said. “You should see the glow on his face while talking about the series, as if talking proudly about his brother or something.”