Egyptian star, Hussein Fahmy Cairo – Mohamed Allouch Many people would count themselves fortunate to have lived through one revolution in their lifetime, but Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy has lived through two. The actor, considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, spoke to Arabstoday about his upcoming projects and his own experiences during the Egyptian revolutions in 1952 and in January last year.
The Egyptian star started off by telling us about his new series “Hafet El Ghaab” which he said will not take park in this year’s so-called ‘Ramadan Race’ but said he was happy with the production nonetheless. “This Ramadan will be very busy because of the sheer amount of programmes being shown. I don’t want this series to be affected by the amount of competition.  We have finished shooting but want to wait until after Ramadan to present it.”
Fahmy says he’s been busy over the past year filming his new series but despite his hectic schedule, he’s been taking an ardent interest in the Egyptian elections – a momentous event which has captivated the entire country in recent months.
Although Fahmy voted for unsuccessful Presidential candidate General Ahmed Shafik, he praised the Egyptian people for taking part in a democratic process and congratulated them for being able to choose a president in the first free elections in 60 years, after the military took control in a 1952 coup. “We must respect the decision of the Egyptian people.  Real democracy is accepting the decision of the group, even if this wasn’t the decision they wanted,” he said.
Despite the jubilation felt during the Egypt’s first democratic process in decades, Fahmy says the revolution itself has had a negative impact on Egyptian television production.  Compared to last Ramadan, Fahmy says there are fewer TV dramas this year because of the political turbulence in the country: “The amount of drama last year was already low and now there are a lot of repeats because of the revolution.  But I also think the temporary damage done to television production is an acceptable price to pay for the political progress.”
Commenting on the amount of programmes dealing with the issue of the revolution, Fahmy said: “The revolution is still happening… it is still young.  The time will come when everything, including the decisions which were made, becomes clear.”
as someone who has lived through both revolutions, Fahmy says it’s important to be critical of authority, no matter how daunting.  Fahmy recounts two incident during his career in which he was critical of dictatorship.  He condemned the government in the plays “Zaki Fel Wezara” (Zaki in the Ministry) and “Ahlan ya Bakawat” (Welcome Nobles).
But isn’t it dangerous to be so openly critical, especially in a country which impose often draconian and punitive measures?
“The plays were hugely successful and thankfully, we didn’t get in trouble for them… I was one of the first people who said that the July 23rd revolution was in fact a coup.  No one said that at the time but I wasn’t afraid… Now after the January 25th revolution of last year, people should be scared because this has been a people’s revolution and we must hold onto our newly gained freedom.”
Fahmy actor joked that he would like to see an Egyptian actor become President one day, just like US President Ronald Reagan.  “I should warn my friends in politics to look after upcoming artists”.