After extensive negotiations, Egyptian actress Shireen Saif Nasr finally agreed to appear in Iraqi singer Kathem El Saher’s upcoming music video for the song “Takoleen Al Hawa” (You Say Love), which is originally written by the late prominent Lebanese poet Nizar Qabani. The video is to be filmed in Cairo under the direction of Muhsin Ahmad.
According to the Qatar based daily, Al Raya, the negotiations began when Kathem made a personal call to Shireen during his stay in France and offered her for the leading role in his new clip, and read the words of the song to her, which she was mesmerized by, asking to be given some time to think the matter over carefully. Shireen had requested that once Kathem reaches Cairo they hold a one on one meeting to further discuss the details.
Once the two met and Shireen learned all the details regarding the music video, she gave her initial acceptance and began preparing for the filming of the clip which will take one whole week to complete. Shireen stressed that if it wasn’t for her admiration to Kathem and his music and her love of Nizar Qabani’s poetry, she would not have accepted the role in the clip.
Recently, pictures Kathem and large advertisement banners for his upcoming album “Hafiat Al Kadamin” (Barefoot) have flooded the streets of Kuwait giving rise for a political and psychological crises to erupt among Kuwaiti citizens. It was revealed that Kuwaiti people associated Kathem with the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and felt that he belonged to his political regime a matter that makes them skeptical of him.
Upon hearing of the news of how people in Kuwait reacted towards the banners of the singer, Rotana, which is the production company that Kathem belongs to, rushed to every corner on every street and removed all the pictures of the singer and replaced them with those of other singers like Assi Hilani and Ehab Tawfi. It was added that Kathem seems to be the only Iraqi singer whom Kuwaiti people oppose especially since a number of other Iraqi singers enjoy a lot of popularity with record stores posting pictures for them.
The matter of Kathem’s pictures all around Kuwait has also upset a number of political figures with many taking the issue to parliament demanding that those responsible for posting the pictures be prosecuted for causing such a social unrest in the country. Officials wanted to know how could the Kuwaiti Minister of Information allow the works of Kathem to be spread in Kuwait disregarding people’s feelings.
Some parliament members demanded 16 million US dollars in compensation to all the Kuwaiti people who were affected negatively by the existence of such advertisements and works for Kathem, saying the matter should not be taken lightly. –Albawaba.com
