Middle East Features First Published: 12 Oct. 2007
By Pakinam Amer
Cairo - Imagine that Sir Anthony Hopkins is disparaged for playing US president Richard Nixon. It might not have happened in the West but in Egypt, dubbed the "Hollywood of the Arab World," a Syrian actor who played the last king of Egypt in a TV soap opera caused a wave of controversy even before shooting started.
Deeming the serial a "conspiracy theory," accusing Syrians of robbing Egyptians' roles and discouraging "mixing" with non-Egyptians in locally-produced drama were only a few reactions. To employ a Syrian in a role that an Egyptian could do is "to cut Egyptian actors' source of income," a prominent actor said.
Hatem Ali, the Syrian director of "al-Malek Farouk" (King Farouk) said he was keen on casting an Egyptian for the title role, without any luck. But when the final choice came down to Tayem Hassan, the 31-year- old Syrian actor who resembled Farouk, he said he had no regrets. "The impressions in the press were very good," Ali told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Indeed, it took Egypt by storm. A popular newspaper even branded it "the soap opera that is currently shaking the throne of Egypt."
The 33-episode drama follows the life of Farouk of Egypt who ruled the country from 1936 until 1952 and was forced to abdicate his throne following a bloodless military coup.
From the first few episodes, it became clear how the series-makers were trying to dust away what they deemed "false perceptions" of a king who was often dismissed in history books as a womanizer, a drunkard, and a corrupt ruler who was partly responsible for the 1948 defeat in the Arab-Israeli war.
Produced by Saudi-owned broadcaster MBC, the show triggered a verbal war even before it was aired. Amr al-Qady, an Egyptian actor who played "Polly," King Farouk's Italian companion, said another actor accused him of "treachery" for working with Syrians.
Some newspaper critics even mocked the Syrian lead actor before they saw him on screen, jokingly calling him "the Syrian who became the King of Egypt." Many doubted he could master an Egyptian accent.
Veteran script writer Osama Anwar Okasha, questioned the series' agenda by accusing it of "promoting monarchy" for the benefit of its producers - an apparent gesture to Saudi royalty.
"But a TV drama - and it doesn't matter if it's American, Saudi or Israeli-produced - is not enough to oust a regime and bring back another," Anis Mansour, a senior Egyptian columnist, fired back.
But then, after all the pre-show controversy, Tayem Hassan delivered a stunning, jaw-dropping performance as the Farouk, with a flawless Egyptian accent and a portrayal with a human touch.
"Tayem Hassan is the King of Egypt now," said series scriptwriter Lamis Gaber, while a Syrian direcotr, Ghassan Abdullah, said that for many Arabs the Syrian actor has become the "true face" of the King. "Farouk himself wouldn't have done a better job," he said.
Added actress Wafaa Amer, who delivered a heart-warming performance of Queen Nazly, the king's mother: "If not Tayem Hassan, then who? The success of the series was staggering, unimaginable."
During the last week of Ramadan, newspapers started advertising for packages that promised a "re-reading of this phase in history" based on the success of the TV series. Al-Masri al-Yom newspaper ran a headline: "King Farouk: The drama series that re-wrote history."
It has already sparked comparisons between the current state of political affairs and that time when Egypt was a kingdom and under British occupation, but apparently still enjoyed a flourish in democracy, said observers.
The corruption of King Farouk's era was recorded in one single "black" book, said Mansour. "But the corruption of the republican era will need to be recorded in volumes as large as the Encyclopedia Britannica."
But apart from criticism, and comparison between historical eras, the series shed light on a sticky issue: competition between Syrian and Egyptian soap operas.
In recent years, Egypt has not been following its usual trajectory in television drama production. Fed dramas with weak plotlines and basking only in the glitter and fame of the lead star, people have been switching the channels for something different.
Then along came the Syrians with dramas rife with history, thought and geopolitical messages, that offered a change from the deluge of clichéd stories flooding the Egyptian TV screens.
In addition, Egyptians’ sojourn into historical drama through the years have not been as successful as their Syrian counterparts, usually for lack of financial resources, manpower or both.
Actress Waafa Amer said that Egyptians could benefit from how much effort is put into a project. "Costumes, make-up, everything is taken seriously. Every single person on set knows his work."
“The scale of production in historical Syrian dramas in general is huge,” said al-Qady, who acted in two Syrian-directed dramas. “They have fresh techniques in directing."
Although some filmmakers and founders of the drama industry in Egypt come from different ethnic backgrounds, some Egyptian filmmakers and actors have become "chauvinistic" when it came to embracing other cultures in art. And many Egyptian screenplay writers and directors felt they had a monopoly over "excellence in drama."
Even as soaps like King Farouk received warm praise, some voices still opposed the Syrian experiment with passion.
But according to the makers of this landmark project, the initiative was neither Syrian, nor Egyptian, nor Saudi but rather a pan-Arab product which also included a Jordanian music score composer and Lebanese make-up artists.
"We hope that this project would succeed in uniting Arabs through art - after failing to unite in politics" said scriptwriter Gaber.
Whether a joint-Arab project like this could signal an upcoming trend in regional arts, it is not clear. But the makers of Farouk could only hope that this will happen. "I have a feeling that this trend will conquer," said director Hatem Ali.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
note: image courtersy of Wafaa Amer
1 comment:
just one question:
why a syrian actor ?
Post a Comment