Special Report
KARACHI: Author, Producer, Director, Playwright of famous Turkish play “Ertugrul Ghazi” Mehmet Bozda, in an interview has said that Pakistan lives in the soul of Turks.
It merits mention here that not only in Pakistan but also Turkey, which is making a fuss all over the world and setting a new record every day about this play.
Mehmet Bozda said, “We want to go to Pakistan as soon as possible. The people there are waiting for us but unfortunately due to coronavirus we have to wait for the eradication of this pandemic and improvement of conditions to go to Pakistan. He said that all Turks have deep love for Pakistan. Pakistan is in our soul. He is our heart, he is our soul and in a very beautiful way he presented it to the people of Pakistan before coming to Pakistan and we accepted his request and presented it on the internet. And now he is expected to visit Pakistan in August or September with the entire team.
He expressed these views in an interview given to PTV Home programme and to ‘Yaar-e-Munn Turkey’ U-Tube channel to Dr. Furqan Hameed on YouTube channel.
Answering a question about the production and shooting of the play, he said, “I first wrote the story of the play, then I invited an artist from Mongolia and he gave the story a pictorial shape and then started building our team. Worked day and night with the entire team and finalized the project.”
Before the shooting, he bought horses from Kazakhstan and trained them. Thousands of actors chose the actors for this play. He trained them all to live in a tent for a year, the etiquette of the time, horse riding, martial arts, swordsmanship and fighting.
Responding to a question about presenting Islamic traditions in the play, he said, “I belong to a religious family and I have keen interest in Islam and Islamic history which played a significant role in giving the drama the Islamic touch. In this play, I have portrayed the spiritual condition, daily life of the people of the thirteenth century who paved way for the greatness of Islam and the formation of an Islamic government in three continents.”
Answering a question about the background music of the play, he said that in this regard, I contacted a number of musicians but none of the them lived up to my expectations till the play was ready. During this time that I met Alpay, a musician and composer, and then Alpay did what I had hoped for. The music he composed caused a stir in the world and it also played a major role in the success of the play.
He said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan created a new enthusiasm in the country ever since he has come into power. He has enlightened the country with new hope. If he had not come to power, such dramas would not have been created in Turkey rather it would have impossible otherwise. They supported the project and encouraged us and he himself visited the set of this play.
