Somaya El Khashab in "Valley of the Kings"

Egyptian artist Somaya El Khashab Cairo – Nivine Muhammed Egyptian artist Somaya El Khashab assured “ArabsToday” that the Saidi woman character she plays in her upcoming role in “Valley of the Kings,” is “different to any other she performed before.” On her return to the roles of Saidi woman again through the series "Valley of the Kings," which audiences will be able to see in the next Ramadan, and in addition to presenting another comedy series with the actress Fifi Abdo, which is the first time she presents two works in one season, she said: “I have played the role of a Saidi woman in dramas such as ‘Eldow Elshard’ and in ‘Devil’s Gardens’ making me very experienced in portraying such a role. However, ‘Valley of the Kings’ is completely different, and I am very optimistic about working with Director Hosny Saleh, especially after seeing his work on the series ‘Alrahaya’ and ‘Sheikh El-Arab Hammam;’ but I wasn’t surprised, as I knew him when he worked as Director of Filming, and the thing about energetic and claver cameramen is that they can be successful directors, Hosny is very accurate, he has a conscience.” She added that she is also optimistic to work with scriptwriter Khal El-Abnoudi who she says “presented us with a brilliant script, although we found it hard at first, we eventually got used to it.” El khashab also stated that “I was also delighted at working with Abdel Rahman El-Abnoudy who gave me the nickname of “Arab’s Sheikha,” I’m also happy working with actress Sabreen who is amazing, understanding and creates a fun atmosphere, we’ve become friends for a while now, and working with artist Majdi Kamel who has gave a distinctive performance. Thank God for working with a great team and I hope we deliver an important and influential piece of work.”
When asked on her worries about working with Hosny Saleh for the first time, El Khashab said that “good work imposes itself, and his two previous series have been successful, which is evidence that he will produce a third successful one. In the first series he worked with the huge star Nour El Sherif and the series that followed he worked with Yehia El-Fakharany; both works received many awards because they were brilliant and Saleh’s directing was special; as he appreciates actors who work accurately on every big to small detail.”
On the character she is portraying in the series, El Kashab said: “I play the role of ‘Najeyyah’ who is a symbol of justice and what is right, she is a Knight in all meaning the word carries, to the point where she speaks her voice sounds masculine probable because she deals with men for the majority of the time. She truly is a Knight who erupts when it comes to her dignity and pride, she is insistent on defending what is right, especially defending the rights of the poor and her rights, even until she dies. She is a strong and bold woman who is not afraid of anything. Playing this role has really worn me out and made me cry, playing sad, difficult and intense scenes has exhausted me.”
El Khashab added that “the events happening in the series are very close to what is happening in real life now with all the revolutions and political issues; because in this time Egypt needs and is looking for someone to take them away from has happened, and ‘Najeyyah’s’ character is that Knight who keeps dignity intact, which is the most important thing for a person. I believe her character is very suitable for what is happening in the Arab World right now.”
On her presenting two pieces of work at the same time for the first time El Khashab commented that: “I’m not pro working yourself to death or producing more than one piece of work at the same time just for the sake of it, because my older shows and films are still being broadcasted on TV stations everyday till now, so I only look for good work, because acting for me is not a job, it is a hobby, and the reason for me appearing in two shows at the same time is that when I signed up to do the first show it was not decided whether it’ll be produced until I already signed up to work on ‘Valley of the Kings.’ I then received a call from Fifi Abdo about the first show asking for us to work together as we were successful when we worked together in the past, and I agreed; that’s why they happened to be at the same time. As for my role in “Kayd Alnesaa” I will be playing Fifi Abdo’s husband’s ‘other wife,’ where each one of us tried to keep her husband away from the other woman in a comedic conflict scenario written by Hussein Mustafa Moharram whose dad is the famous writer Mustafa Moharram and whom I produced two very distinct works with throughout my artistic life, ‘Rayya We Skeena’ and ‘Haj Metwali,’ where Ahmed Saqer produced a comedic story. In this series I will also work alongside Ahmed Rateb and elite of other stars.”
When asked on how the two shows will be marketed since they appear at the same time, the actress said: “both roles are extremely different, there’s no comparison, for example ‘Valley of the Kings’ is typical Saidi whereas ‘Kayd Alnesaa’ isn’t, and both characters I play are different in their characteristics and everything else. As for marketing I leave that to God’s will, as we work extremely hard and produced two very good shows which I believe God will reward us for.”
Regarding reducing her acting fees she said: “it’s my duty to do so in support of diminishing the financial crisis and keeping the cinematic production process going, so it has nothing to do with my fame, because we’re all Egyptian and must support one another to ensure cinematic and economical production, otherwise many families will starve.”
Commenting on the subject of the abolition of censorship on artistic works, the actress said that “I respect the feelings of Egyptian viewers and would never take part in an inappropriate role, because I think a project should be bold in the topics it presents, but that doesn’t mean they have to involve racy scenes.”