M.H. I don’t expect that everyone will like the movie and it was not initiated to be a popcorn film where the viewer would watch it and simply sleep on it. If the movie aggravates or encourages the viewer to think, then the film has served its purpose. The best thing is to watch something that makes you think for a moment. Some people say that it is a rather dark movie with a heightened sense of hopelessness. A lot of people told me that they got depressed. I think we should be depressed.
S.M. Homosexuality was brought up a lot in the film. Do you feel that men in Cairo are aware of it? Was discretion advised on account of it being a serious taboo or was it more a form of satire to express that the average man today lacks gut, steel and masculinity when it comes to standing up for his view or taking responsibilities?
M.H. Art should not be measured ethically. Art or drama revolves around characters that some people might consider at fault, guilty or wrongful from the start according to their personal biases and set of beliefs. The movie only nostalgically contrasts between past and current Cairo and folds to what Cairo used to tolerate in terms of different religions, intellect and understanding our differences. We were a very cosmopolitan city at one time. Now we do not tolerate or deal with one another with heart. It reaches a point where hostilities do not brew between Egyptians and foreigners but are initiated among us, which is sad. For example, take a veiled and unveiled girl, a Muslim and a Christian. If we do not adhere and actively seek out solutions for these problems and continue to evade these issues we will fall into a bottomless pit.
S.M. The movie mainstreams a lot of Cairo's past and recent transitions, and it was an ideal location to film it downtown at the Yacoubian Building. Due to the fact it shadowed a community that is small and interconnected to everyone's affairs, do you believe Egyptians judge each other crucially?
M.H. Naturally, our society has greatly changed and the dramatic transition is evident in that area as well. Today, our society crucially judges people from every aspect and from a moral standard of view rather than accepting change and tolerating other people's differences. But our role in society is not 'Godly'. It is not our role to act as our Creator and judge people according to how we believe God will judge us.
S.M. Are people ready to see roles like Hatem on the silver screen? A lot of uneasy viewers cringed at the mere sight of Hatem's role and others laughed. Care to comment?
M.H. We had no intentions of inducing any comical tones but if a person laughed or cringed it's for the movie's best interest. A person sitting agitated or in complete turmoil during the entire movie is in itself a good effect.
S.M. The ending was enigmatic on account it mainstreamed two different characters of different social classes in holy matrimony. What was the main motif behind the wedding ceremony between Adel Emam's (Zaki) and that of Hind Sabry's (Buthaina)?
M.H. The ending had a strong impact on the movie's fold on account it mainstreamed Egyptians from the lower class and those of bourgeoisie standing together. The concept of the wedding - also known as the 'merger' - served its purpose by pinpointing an important element of social deviations and stressing the fact that we all have to live together! You cannot alienate people due to their social standing. The main motif is to accept and tolerate differences amidst our cultural gaps, religious beliefs, race, colour, etc.
S.M. Zaki's character played by Adel Emam is deeply moved by his country's transition. He is a man deeply rooted to Cairo's glorious past and is very nostalgic. He would often go to an exclusive elite night club at a prestigious hotel to feel the essence of Cairo's pastime glory. Was it your intention to have Yusra play the piano for him seductively, so as to lure Zaki metaphorically and have him travel in time back to his beloved old Cairo when it was still within its prime?
M.H. Zaki feels alienated today. He cannot blend in with modern Cairo and his entire world has changed. He feels the need to be nostalgic because he feels out of place and a stranger in his own home.
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S.M. Would this film, with all of its cultural taboos and associations, have been effective 10 years ago or even produced?
M.H. I think the film effectively fits in today's world and strikes a cord rather than being a movie visually perceived in the past. We need these sort of movies now and we feel more connected to them now in comparison to how we might have not been moved by them in the previous years.
S.M. The abuse during the negotiations in the film, when the Egyptian intelligence were cross examining the fundamentalists, was upsetting. The movie was bald, as it portrays a poor boy who was down-sized all of his life and dismissed by the police academy's admittance due to his father's profession of being a door-keeper (bawab). Thus, this misfortune hinders the boy to a world of extremism and surges his despondence of his shattered dreams onto a new extremist faith and later gets abused in jail and avenges his stolen dignity. Do you think this storyline had some light on discussing the true problem that awaits our youth, the problem being religious extremism and terrorism?
M.H. I believe that terrorism in the Middle East or in Egypt has not been tackled correctly. This is not the way to fight terrorism. It has been more than 30 years and terrorism is still being manufactured through despondent hearts and extremist followers who see no beauty in living in a world full with so much corruption and distinctions. You cannot fight terrorism with force or by reducing yourself to barbaric rituals. The quest in which terrorism can be subdued is through opinions, thoughts and voicing out what cannot be said but in a humane manner.
S.M. Adel Emam's character was fixated on Cairo's past and infamous for his promiscuous lifestyle. He never insulted or disgraced a woman and was very cultured when it came to courting ladies and very open about his desires and wants. Do you think Cairo needs to evolve first, to change its mentality when it comes to opposing women's rights or other forms of disrespect?
M.H. How men treat women is not the issue. The real issue lies in respect, in general. We need to respect one another first, respect our fellow peers, citizens, pedestrians on the street first before we tackle the issue of how men treat women. One must treat everyone with respect, especially in your moving vehicles.
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