Egyptian singer Ruby has revealed that she doesn't see that her seductive performance and using a dancing outfit in her video clip were the main factors of her success. Ruby announced in an interview that she started her career starring in a small role in the movie “Sukoot Hansawar” (Silence We are Filming) directed by Yousef Shaheen.
According to the London based daily, Al Quds Al Arabi, shortly after her role in the film, she started in Dream TV as an announcer. Three years later, she became a phenomenon after her bold video clip “Inta Aref Lei” (You Know Why) in which she appeared wearing a belly-dancing outfit and spent the whole clip dancing in the streets.
The young singer, who is in her last year of law school, doesn't think that the source of her popularity was the bold video clip but her true singing talent. Ruby's real name is Rania Hussein Mohammed, her father is a retired officer and works currently as a businessman and her mother is a school principal and she has one younger sister.
Yousef Shaheen who was the first to discover her talent gave the name Ruby to her. Her second tutor was director Sharif Sabri who, according to Ruby, brought out the best in her in her first video clip.
Ruby says that she rarely goes to university but still she sees admiration in her colleagues' eyes. She adds that she was not afraid to show up in the clip with a belly-dancing outfit but on the contrary, she is proud to wear it because it represents a very important aspect of Egyptian tradition.
Answering a question about her new album, she said that it is not true that she released an album adding that she feels sorry for not having strict regulations regarding intellectual property in Egypt. Ruby concluded that she does not compare herself with other singers and that she is unique in her own style.
Egyptian director Samir Sabri has made the decision to screen his film “Al Shaqa” (The Apartment) this summer starring Ruby alongside three new female actresses. The film has faced many problems since its beginning stages because the Egyptian Censorship committee had refused to allow it to pass their standards. One of the main problems that the committee had objected against was the fact the film contained too much nudity and its story is inappropriate for Arab audiences. The film tells the story of three young girls who live together in an apartment who are forced to basically act as prostitutes for their employers in order to keep their jobs.
This basic fact is what the committee strongly disagreed against forcing the scenarist to make major alterations to the script to make it some what decent. Some of the changes included making Ruby’s character (Dunia) appear as one that represents the essence of a woman who chose her heart over materialistic positions. The director also made it a point to make eliminate foul language used in the film and lessened the amount of sexuality in the scenes. The committee initially accepted the revised script for the film.
Ruby, who never ceases to surprise her audience, has once more gotten herself into more trouble, but this time at Cairo University, where she is resuming her college degree in law. Ruby had created chaos on university premises for wearing a very revealing and unsuitable outfit, causing male students to follow her around and others protest against her appearance. Security guards at the university had to escort Ruby from the main entrance and gave her a harsh verbal warning stressing that such outfits are not to be worn at university and that she should respect the institution. Ruby had previously received a warning from the dean of her college for wearing cloths that are considered too hot and provocative for a university student. –Albawaba.com
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
