Rania Farid Shawqi is still waiting, after 12 movies and 5 play, for her chance to act in a theatrical performance where she can jump out of her stagnant times. She admits that she has crossed a small road in her artistic road. However, she says that she is satisfied and does not aim for a quick rise to fame.
In an interview conducted by Kuwaiti news agency Kuna, the actress said that she is mostly active in TV these days. She also told the agency that there are two series that will be aired very soon: Qita Fi Souk El Samak (A Cat in the Fish Market) and Al Lis Wal Kilab.
Meanwhile, the actress said that she is not interested in saturating the screen since that would mean that she would have to take on unimportant and unsatisfying roles.
“I do not bother about saturating the screen, especially in my current frame of mind. I am looking for challenging scripts and for novel ideas,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rania was scheduled to present the ever-famous Fawazeer Ramadan show, which airs in the holy month of Ramadan. The project, however, did not materialize. According to Rania, her change of heart came when she noticed ‘peculiar’ occurrences behind the scenes.
“I had a feeling that the relations behind the scenes of this show are strange and I refuse to pick just any project just to appear on television,” she said.
Rania added, “I agreed in the beginning to star in the show after I read it well, but the shooting atmosphere made me feel comfortable. Director Mohammad Abdul Nabi was scheduled to direct me in the show and I had worked with him on different occasions for satellite channels alongside Hisham Sleem.
When I read the script for Fawazeer Ramadan I fell in love with it. It talks about an employee who, everyday, receives a different tourist delegation. The employee has to present the tourists with folkloric dances and then accompany them to a tourist or historical site where she explains to them the details of the tourist attraction. The idea was great, but I had the feeling that the actual implementation had other connotations to it.”
The Egyptian Union of Artists designates Rania as a theatrical actress, although her works, until now, have been mostly in the cinema and television. Rania explained the reason saying that “until now, I have yet to be presented with a good theatrical script. However, I did do the Fawazeer show for MBC and it was very successful. I even received the award of Best Theatrical Actress for my performances on various satellite channels. But, after that, I never got another suitable opportunity, which I do not believe is my fault.”
As for her absence from the silver screen, Rania said that “cinema is different. I cannot deny that in Egypt, it has become obvious that only a selected few dominate the scene and are given good opportunities.”
Rania also commented on the special opportunities she has gotten for being the daughter of one of Egypt’s most celebrated actors, Farid Shawqi.
“I am completely satisfied with my films and I completely deny that I got special treatment from my father or that any role was custom made for me. However, I will not deny that my father did interfere in my work, but this only happened once in the movie ‘Ah Min Sharbat,’ or (Oh! Sharbat). But he never interfered after that.
Meanwhile, the actress commented on her use of her full name, as opposed to dropping her father’s first name, like Mahmoud Yassin’s daughter Rania Yassin.
“I have made it a point to insert my father’s name into mine. I am very proud of the fact that he is my father and I get a great sense of joy when I read my name. I will not delete my father’s heritage from my name for any reason especially not to say that I am independent. I expect my fans to know this from my performances. I do not have these hang-ups.”
“I am an actress in her first steps,” added Rania, “I am constantly learning.”
Meanwhile, although her aspirations are on hold, the actress did not hesitate to talk about her ideal role.
“I am hoping to play the role of a simple struggling Egyptian woman. I have not seen any of the girls of our generation take on such roles. Most of them appear in some sort of ‘Cinderella’ image, away from reality and much more romantic that is realistic.”
“I want to be the struggling, perceptive, intelligent Egyptian woman who faces various social and economical pressures,” she added.
Rania also said “on television, I have always hoped to portray the woman who sells her husband out because of social pressures and problems. This dream of mine came true when director Ahmad Khader offered such a role to me in his new series Al Lis Wal Kilab (The Thief and The Dogs).”
“I have also played the young poor girl who works at the fish market in my latest role A Cat in the Fish Market,” she said.
“I am not the kind of person who dreams the impossible, I am a realist. I believe that dreaming the impossible leads only to depression and a deep sense of failure. These are emotions I constantly try to avoid”-Albawaba.com.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
