From right, Nour Khaled Al-Nabawi, Laila Ahmed Zaher, and Maryam Ashraf (social networking sites)

The Ramadan 2024 season will witness the participation of many artists’ children in various dramas. Some of them are participating for the first time, and others are continuing their journey despite the controversy surrounding their talents.

The heavy appearance of the artists' children raised questions about their eligibility to obtain these opportunities, not to mention the extent of their contribution to raising the quality of drama.

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Khaled Al-Nabawi and his son Nour

Actor Khaled Al-Nabawi and his son Nour Al-Nabawi meet in the series “Empire Meem”, as Nour embodies the character of Marwan Abi Al-Majd, the son who rebels against his father. This is the second work that brings the duo together after “We Are Returning, O Hawa” two years ago.

Nour Al-Nabawi was keen to stay away from his father in his early days. He appeared on screen for the first time in “The Choice 2” as Ahmed Shousha, a role that drew attention to him and paved the way for him to participate in “Public Transport” and other works.

As for “Empire Meem,” director Mohamed Salama exploited the harmony between Khaled Al-Nabawi and his son Nour to make the scenes between them appear realistic and convey the intimacy of the family, especially since the son relies in his videos on social media platforms on the quarrels between him and his father.

Despite Nour’s recent success, especially in the movie “Al-Harifa,” which topped the revenues of the last film season, achieving revenues approaching 72 million pounds (a dollar equals about 50 pounds), he has not yet presented a character that shows his acting abilities, and his appearance has been limited to a character. The young man is light-hearted and quarrelsome.

Ahmed Zaher and his daughters

For her part, director Yasmine Ahmed Kamel chose the young actress Laila Ahmed Zaher to embody the character “Nesma,” who is a professional in the world of “Tik Tok” in the series “Highest Viewing Rate,” in an attempt to change the difficult reality she lives with her family and her sister Shaima (Salma Abu Deif). .

Laila Ahmed Zaher appeared for the first time with her father in 2008, portraying the character of the child in the movie “Captain Hema” opposite Tamer Hosni, and the audience later knew her in the movie “Omar and Salma,” before she moved away from acting for a while and returned in the year 2020. She gained fame. Major, after becoming a professional in recent years, presenting videos on social media platforms, which is consistent with the idea of ​​the series, which addresses the issue of turning to social networks for quick profit.

In addition to Laila topping the “Highest Viewing Rate” championship, her two sisters, the child Mona Ahmed Zaher, are participating in the series “Empire Meem,” and Malak Ahmed Zaher is participating in the series “Muharib” with Hassan Al-Raddad, which is the same work that witnesses the participation of Mahmoud Yassin, the grandson of the late Egyptian actor who He bears the same name (Mahmoud Yassin).

As for “The Secret of My God,” director Raouf Abdel Aziz gave Maryam Ashraf Zaki a limited role with her mother, the artist Rogina, who stars in the series. Maryam is having her second experience with her mother after she participated in “Setham” last year.

Maryam Ashraf Zaki plays the role of the daughter of a wealthy family who loves the world of Tik Tok and social networking sites, even if she has not shown any acting abilities that reveal her talent yet.

First chances

The current drama season also witnesses the first opportunities being given to the children of some artists, as Youssef Hamada Hilal appears for the first time in the role of the child David in the events of the fourth part of the series “Al-Maddah,” in which his father Hamada Hilal also stars, who said in statements to a local website that director Ahmed Samir Farag was the one who chose the son to embody the character.

Also in "Al-Maddah 4", the young actor Ahmed Kamal Abu Rayya, son of the artist Kamal Abu Rayya, participates. He also participates in "Thresholds of Joy" with the artist Yahya Al-Fakharani and director Magdy Abu Amira.

“Qalaa Al-Bahr” witnesses the participation of Omar, the son of the artist Muhammad Riad, who stars in the series, and the participation of Aya Abdel Rahman Al-Abnoudi, the daughter of the late poet.

In "Haqq Arab", Muhammad, the son of the artist Ahmed Maher, presents the character of the brother of the hero Arab Al-Suwerki (Ahmed Al-Awadi), while Basant, the daughter of the artist Ahmed Siam, participates in "Rahil", which is shown in the second half of Ramadan and stars Yasmine Sabry.

Deserved opportunities or diarrhea?

Regarding the participation of artists’ children in dramatic works, art critic Rami Abdel Razek told Al Jazeera Net that it is “one of the rooted phenomena in the Egyptian artistic community. At first it was done timidly, but in the last ten years the matter has turned from a mere phenomenon into a reality, and there has become almost It is an agreement that the children of any actor or actress practice art.”

Regarding the opportunities available in the current season, he added, “The logic of paralysis is clearly present in the artistic community, and everyone chooses who they are comfortable working with, and therefore, in accordance with the logic of ‘the closest ones come first,’ it will be easy to give children opportunities and roles, especially if the father or mother are the heroes of these works.” They are not guests of honor or in small roles.”

But Abdel Razzaq believes that there is a selection of talents. “There are already talented names who have experiences, such as Basant Ahmed Siam, who has important theatrical experiences that demonstrated her talent.”

He added, "On the contrary, for example, Laila Ahmed Zaher, there is disagreement all the time about her talent, even though she started her career since she was a child, but assigning her an important role in the 'highest viewership' was a matter of controversy due to the extreme artificiality of the performance."

For his part, critic Ihab Al-Turki believes that the problem lies in the lack of confidence in the children of artists to present themselves with their personal efforts. “There are supposed to be opportunities for independence and diligence away from the parents in the studio.”

Al-Turki cited the children of artists such as Donia and Amy Samir Ghanem and Mohamed Samir Ghanem, who “remained independent from their parents in order to create their own, independent success without direct influence from the father or mother, but what is happening now is not in the interest of the children, even if they already have the talent.”

As for using artists’ children in roles close to their real-life characters, art critic Rami Abdel Razek believes that “this is expected because the contexts of writing in recent years have nothing to do with dramatic construction. Most works are written during filming, and thus changes occur, and it is easier to give them a chance.” Appearing with a character closer to their personalities so that their lack of talent and inability to act is not revealed, and so that they also gain experience through these characters instead of giving them different personalities that increase their state of rejection on screen, especially since their appearance puts them in the spotlight.”

Abdel Razek considered the phenomenon “unhealthy and part of the ills of the artistic community in recent years, because talent is not inherited, and the number of talented children of artists is small, and thus giving them all these opportunities crowds out the opportunities of young people and new faces who have been working hard for years to get an opportunity or a role to realize their dream, but “Children of artists are not exposed to these problems.”

Source: Al Jazeera