Haifa halts Ramadan TV series due to production delays

Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe has halted filming a series that was scheduled to run during the holy month of Ramadan. A statement from her office Saturday said Egyptian series "Mawlad Wa Sahbo Ghayeb" was halted because the productionwould not be completed in time for the holy month of Ramadan, without specifying when the show would be aired. The statement said about one third of shooting had yet to be completed, “given the scale of the production that requires time to build the grand sets.” Filming of the project began on March 20, 2012, according to Facebook fan pages. Nisreen Daher, Haifa’s media consultant, described Sunday the series as one in which the Lebanese star gets to showcase her talent and take on a series of roles that change dramatically over the course of the show. A Cinderella-like tale, Haifa initially plays a poor woman who earns a living on the streets by dancing for passersby. Her character’s fortune changes, however, after an encounter with a wealthy man who falls deeply in love and seeks her hand in marriage. At some stage during the show, Daher told The Daily Star, Haifa’s character is thrown in jail on false charges fabricated by members of her lover’s family. Daher would not provide details of how the story ends but said Haifa’s character would emerge from prison and would adopt a new life style that “reflects her evolution throughout the show.” Egyptian dancing icon Fifi Abdou is just one of the prominent cast of actors and dancers to star in the show. Ramadan series are very popular in the Arab world. This year Lebanon has five of these series planned for air including: "Akher Khabar", "Duo al-Gharam", "Al-Aeda", "Al-Ghaliboun" and "Ajyal."