Mirham El-Rayes, daughter of the late Egyptian artist Madiha Kamel, spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat about the scenes of her mother’s life and the last years of her life, on her 75th birthday, which coincides with this month.
At first, Merham said that her mother’s inclinations to enter the world of acting were rejected by her father, in contrast to her mother, who loved acting very much and encouraged her to do so. Madiha Kamel saw acting as a hobby, but she launched into fashion shows and acting after her photo topped the cover of an art magazine after she won the Miss Beach title when she was 17 years old.
The late Egyptian artist Madiha Kamel
Merham explained, “After her marriage, my mother moved away from art for a while, at which time my grandfather insisted on marrying her to my father in order to keep her away from acting. After her separation, she returned to acting again.” And she continued, that during that period her father continued to boycott her and was not satisfied with what she was doing, but he changed his mind after seeing her for the first time in the movie (Rise into the Abyss), but rather praised her talent.
Merham continues her speech: «My mother seized the opportunity when she was offered to play the starring role in the movie (The Rise to the Abyss), and both the artists, Souad Hosni and Naglaa Fathi, refused it, for fear of presenting the character (The Spy), and my mother’s candidacy came after the director Kamal Al-Sheikh watched it. He played the role of evil in the series (The Snake), and he felt that she had the ability to embody the character.
Kamel passed away at the age of 50 (photo source, her daughter Mirham)
Merham confirmed that her grandmother to her mother, Souad, was a lover of art, and was nominated for starring in a movie entitled (The Divorce of Souad Hanim) in front of the late artist Anwar Wagdi, and she adds: “But when my grandfather learned about the matter, he stormed the plate with a firearm on the first day of filming and took it by force, and the film was presented after that by the artist.” The late Aqila Ratib, and my grandmother never repeated the experience, and no one dared to offer her works after that incident.
Regarding her opinion on presenting a dramatic work that deals with her mother’s biography, Mirham said: “There is no artist who can embody the character of Madiha Kamel, and I refuse to present her artistic biography on the screen, and I will not use her name for profit, whatever the temptations.”
She pointed out that he offered her to star in a movie two years after her mother’s departure, for a million pounds: “I do not like acting, and I do not understand it at all, and I am aware that the purpose behind the offer was to trade in my mother’s name, under the title (Watch the first appearance of Madiha Kamel’s daughter), so that my daughter Joumana inherited a lot from my mother’s spirit, features and movements, but I refuse to enter the artistic field.
Regarding her psychological state after witnessing the death of guitarist Omar Khurshid, she said: “My mother lived through bitter days, and she suffered from depression that almost destroyed her after the death of her close friend Khorshid, especially since she witnessed the accident closely.”
This August marks the 75th anniversary of Kamel’s birth
And about the works closest to her, Merham said the films “The Rise to the Abyss”, “The Sparkle of Your Eyes”, “Things Against the Law”, the movie “A File in Arts” directed by Atef Al-Tayeb, and the plays “Sweet Talk” and “Hello Shalabi”. And “a very windy day”, and of course the series “The Snake”, which I considered an important step and a sign in her career, as well as the series “Al-Bashir”, and the series “The Spider” about the story of Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud, who had a strong family relationship, as Mahmoud was attending the filming and told her A famous sentence: “You were not created for what you are, and one day your future will change and change completely.” And it was, as she put it.
wrong information
Mirham revealed, “There is a lot of false information that is being reported without evidence, including my mother’s relationship with the Egyptian businessman Ahmed Al-Rayyan, who was said to be behind her retirement. Also, the rumor that she had cancer is not true. Rather, she had rheumatoid arthritis long before her retirement, and she was treated in a sanatorium in Lausanne.” Also, there are those who wrote that I was not satisfied with her and did not like her, and that I called her to retire and veil, and this is also a rumor.
Her mother’s illness was a decisive factor in her decision to retire
And Merham asserts: “My mother did not regret leaving art, nor did she regret entering his world, but rather she was reconciled with herself, and what is said that she was a guest on the program (a very frank dialogue) and prevented it from being shown after she stated in it that she regretted entering art is not true, She was not a guest on the program in the first place.
Merham said that her mother was famous for wearing a blue stone around her neck since her appearance, and rumors spread about him, due to the extent of her connection with him, and there are those who said that it was a special gift from her fiancé, who was an officer and was martyred. However, she was optimistic about him. After she bought it from Switzerland, she presented many artistic tournaments, and obtained large sums of money through it, and after it was cut off, she went to repair it while he was in her neck without taking it off, and she completely dispensed with it after performing the Hajj.
Kamel did not back down from her decision to retire in the nineties
retirement
Mirham revealed the reasons for her mother’s retirement, saying: “My grandmother was very beautiful despite her advanced age, and she did not complain of any chronic disease, but within a few days she transformed without warning and her body became emaciated, and her features changed, and my mother saw that, so she felt that nothing called for conflict.” At that time, she was presenting the play (Sweet Talk) with Saeed Saleh, and filming the movie (The Devil’s Gate) with director Adel Al-Aasar, so she made her decision, left the film and the theatrical show, wore the hijab and retired from art.
The late artist Madiha Kamel and her grandson
Adding that her mother retired at a time when the competition was intensifying between the two stars, Nadia Al-Jundi, Nabila and Obaid, and she wore the hijab in 1991, and she left in 1997 at the age of 50.
For his part, director Adel Al-Aasar, the director of her latest film, “The Devil’s Gate,” said that the late actress Madiha Kamel made the decision to retire and wear the hijab irrevocably. “There were no signs indicating her retirement, so the matter was a surprise to everyone.”
Respect her wish
Al-Aasar added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “Madiha was a witness to my beginnings in the world of directing through the movie (A Deal with a Woman), and we worked together on my movie (The Fall), and in her latest movie (The Gate of Satan), she left filming in the middle of the movie and said to me (Oh Adel, I will not continue filming… I retired and will wear the hijab).
Al-Aasar thought that there was a production problem or scenes that she was not satisfied with, and he tried to persuade her to return, but her decision was decisive, and he asked her at the time: “Does it bother you that I complete the movie without you?” She replied that she agreed to that, and he continues: “I felt at the time a great crisis and dilemma because she was the heroine of the film, and the producing company did not take any action against her. Producer Ibrahim Shawky Salem respected her wish, and did not file lawsuits against her.”
Mirham El Rayes, daughter of Madiha Kamel
Al-Aasar believes that Madiha Kamel was a star of high caliber and an educated and sophisticated artist: “She worked with me at the height of her glory, despite my beginnings in directing, and she supported me and supported me in my first films.
