Egyptian comedian Samir Ghanem, returns to the big screen after a long absence, to act in an upcoming movie with young comedian Mohammed Huneidi.
The London based daily, Al Sharq Al Awsat reported that Ghanem is looking forward to this project with the talented star Huneidi. "Mohammed Huneidi told me about the project, which will also star young actress Hanan Turk. I got interested in the idea and I'm looking forward to start shooting this month," said Ghanem.
Ghanem does not discuss politics, preach morality or satirize customs in his comedies. His themes are always simple and often traditional: humor is the main thing.
"My role is to make people laugh, which is an art in itself," he maintains. "I usually convey a little message through my comedy, but that is never the main point. Once people laugh, I feel I have been successful: that is my message as a comedian."
His contribution to film, while not inconsiderable, is more a matter of quantity than quality. He has starred in a plethora of commercial films, most of which have no theme and no plot, and are poorly directed to boot. They simply depend on his popularity and wit to generate laughter.
That, however, is precisely why he regrets none of them: "Because they ultimately made people laugh, which is the most important thing." The cinema, he explains, was already in the doldrums when he began taking on such projects in the late '70s and throughout the '80s. "Film directors had no resources other than the abilities of box- office stars," he points out.
He concedes, however, that while ambition led him into the theatre, it was the need for money that took him into film. His late brother Said was receiving medical treatment for kidney failure in the US, and Ghanem took care of the expenses. "Anyway, those films were no worse than the sort we have now," he says bluntly. "The only difference is that directors now are young and ambitious; they are qualified and have access to better resources than we had in our time."
Born as Samir Youssif Ghanem, the comedian star graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture in the fifties. He got into an acting trio with his friends George Sedhom and Al Dief Ahmed, in the sixties, which helped him kicked off a successful acting career.
Ghanem and his wife, actress Dalal Abdul Aziz, reunited after a 12-year absence on the small screen, through the a TV series "Sit Sittat Jannanu Farahat" (Six Ladies Drove Farahat Mad). Directed by Medhat Al Sibae' and written by Magdi Al Abyari, the series tackled relationships between men and women, and how a woman can drive any man to go insane.
Ghanem stressed that he is pleased with the success his wife, actress Dalal Abdel Aziz, and their daughter, Donia, had last Ramadan. Last year marked Donia's debut: she starred with her mother in a series titled Liladala Wugouh Kathira (Justice Has Many Faces). Ghanem is proud of his daughter's performance. "She was gorgeous and is very natural, like me; you don't feel she is acting at all," he boasts. "She also has a very nice voice and I'm sure she will make a good actress." – Albawaba.com
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
