Archeologists and fans have reservations about choosing the artist to star in the series "The King"

"Ahmose" is in the circle of controversy ... because of the features of Amr Youssef

• Specialists saw that the characteristics of Ahmose in terms of age and physical composition are far from the characteristics of Amr Youssef.

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As soon as it was announced, the historical Egyptian series "The King", based on the novel "Good Struggle" by the late writer Naguib Mahfouz, which deals with aspects of the life of King Ahmose and his expulsion of the Hyksos, joined the list of controversial series.

The work, which will be shown in the drama race next Ramadan, caused an uproar for various reasons, most notably the choice of artist Amr Youssef for the role of the championship and the embodiment of the character of the Pharaonic King Ahmose, which raised reservations due to the completely different features of Youssef from the features of the pharaohs, in addition to what studies have confirmed Historical and archaeological that Ahmose was young, and died at the age of 35 years only, and his physical structure was slender, and thus the characteristics of Ahmose, whether in terms of age or physical formation, are far from the characteristics of the artist Amr Youssef, in addition to the difference in the color of the skin, eyes and facial features, and this What critic Mahmoud Qassem went to in his media statements, indicating that it is better to choose actors who appear for the first time to perform historical figures in artistic works.

Artistic form

On the other hand, critic Tariq Al-Shennawi considered that the artist's personal features are not the main criterion for judging his ability to embody a historical figure, but the criterion is the general artistic form in which the work will come out, and the extent of his ability to convey the viewer to the time period it deals with, especially since this type of Historical works require several artistic elements, such as accessories, clothes, music, etc., pointing out that the late artist Ahmed Zaki was presented by the character of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Abdel Halim Hafez, and there was no similarity in the features between them.

Social networking sites also witnessed a discussion about Amr Youssef's choice to embody the character, and a number of the pioneers of these sites went to nominate artists with Egyptian features similar to those of the pharaohs, such as the artist Khaled al-Nabawi, especially after the great success he achieved in the series "Kingdoms of Fire" in which he embodied a character Toman Bay, and the artist Mohamed Ramadan, who had previously announced in a television interview in 2017 that he hoped to present the character of Ahmose, and the funny thing is that the nominations also extended to the Canadian artist of Egyptian origin, Mina Masoud.

Historical error

The reservations about the series "The King", produced by "Synergy" and "Aroma" companies, and the script and dialogue written for him by Muhammad, Khaled and Sherine Diab, and directed by Hussein Al-Manbawi, were not limited to acting, so they extended to the content of what the work will present in terms of events, and how it deals with facts and events Many archaeologists and those interested in ancient Egyptian history demanded that the text be presented to experts in history to be precise in dealing with historical figures and events, so that the work gains credibility away from the mistakes that may occur, and these claims increased after circulating a propaganda publication (poster) for the work, in which it appears. Half the face of his hero, the artist Amr Youssef, and half the face of the Pharaonic king as Ahmose, but experts have confirmed that it belongs to King Thutmose III, as explained by a member of the Historical Society and Writers Union, Bassam Al-Shamaa, stressing the need to seek the help of specialists in archeology and history to read the scenario and dialogue.

While the head of the tour guides association, the Egyptian archaeological expert, Walid Al-Batouti, said in an intervention with a TV program, that there is no archaeological evidence on how Ahmose expelled the Hyksos from Egypt, and therefore the dramatic treatment will be the subject of diligence.

Critic Tariq Al-Shennawi agreed with him, explaining that Naguib Mahfouz, the owner of the original novel, did not monitor history in his works, as he presents literature and not history, and the historical works he presented came in a fantasy form, which makes the series in need of historical and social documentation of those Period.

For his part, producer Tamer Mortada indicated, in statements during a press conference held earlier, that the series "The King" will be one of the largest and most important production of "Synergy" and "Aroma" for the Ramadan 2021 drama season, due to the work involved in terms of wars, horses, clothes and decorations. , As it deals with the story of Ahmose and his liberation of southern and northern Egypt and the expulsion of the Hyksos from Thebes, adding that the series will be the first true pharaonic work of the modern generation that deals realistically with the life of the pharaohs, and will witness the presentation of huge visual effects.

Good fight

“The Good Struggle” is the last pharaonic novel by the international writer, Naguib Mahfouz, before turning to social novels. It was first published in 1944, and it is the third among Mahfouz’s historical novels after “The Absurdity of Fate” 1939 and “Radobis” 1943. In the novel, Mahfouz combines The story of the struggle of the people of Thebes, which is located in southern Egypt, with the story of the love of King Ahmose. The hero, Ahmose, despite his victory, did not lose sight of the image of that princess coming from the desert (the daughter of his Hyksian enemy), whose features remained engraved in his heart as the first day he saw her on the back The Pharaonic ship, however, sacrifices his passion for the sake of goodness and the liberation of his homeland.

Communication sites witnessed a discussion about the choice, and some nominated other artists as "Egyptian features."

Experts called for the need to seek the help of specialists in history to read the script and dialogue.

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