In progress: Slowly but surely
By
Sherif Iskander Nakhla
Ezzat Abu Auf, a well-known performer with eight awards to his name, began his acting career in 1991. Staring in 1967, Abu Auf was a member of the legendary band, Les Petits Chats for 12 years. With his three sisters he formed another, now better known band, the 4M, which lasted for the next 14 years. As an actor Abu Auf has participated in 44 television serial dramas, six plays and 33 films including the recent Asrar Al-Banat (Girls' Secrets).
When I started acting, I went through more struggles with myself than with anyone else. I was already a celebrity when I became an actor -- a superstar, in some sense. The 4M was the most successful Arab band for at least 12 years. It was by mere coincidence that I became an actor, but one condition I imposed on myself was that I would never depend on my popularity as a singer to make a name in the film industry. I would refuse singing roles, I wanted to be an actor. And to do this I would accept those small roles that I felt were important and vital for the story. The challenge was to be patient so I could gradually build an acting career .
I consider myself an amateur. I feel that the moment you become professional you lose everything. Even now I still get excited about a new role and immediately start doing my homework, as it were, preparing. I become playful, childish. And I am happy. I never really learned how to act, it's the playfulness that helps me come across as natural and convincing, both on stage and on the screen. I just make sure that I've absorbed the character first. Call me a 54 year-old child.
Which is all by way of introducing the film I'm working on now, 45 Days, which I think will be a hit. It deals with an important subject, a very broadly relevant subject, I think. In Asrar Al-Banat the story was about the relationship between father and daughter. In 45 Days, it's about father and son. It's a brilliant script, written by Mohamed Hifzy. The son, my son, is Salah Sarhan, who is the son of [the late film star] Shukri Sarhan -- and he's exciting to work with regardless. The film is directed by the young and talented Ahmed Youssri, whom I expect will be one of the best appreciated Egyptian filmmakers soon.
We are taking our time with this film. We've been reading and re- reading the script -- very seriously considering and reconsidering everything. Overall it's excellent team work. I was initially given sketches and drawings of the characters in the film and have since had many meetings with my make-up artists to discuss turning me into that character -- to realise what the director imagines. One would usually get the script and begin to prepare only a few days before the shooting starts. In this film, though, we are really taking our time, trying to make the right decisions. I really think it's going to be a great success. The biggest conflict is the budget, which is film's main problem these days. To cut down on costs we're shooting on 16mm film, then copying it onto 35mm negatives.
I feel like we're about to embark on a great adventure. These days the market is saturated with successful comedies -- Al-Limby, Mido Mashakel. This film, by contrast, has a serious theme and is made in the tradition of film dramas of the past. Egyptian cinema really must balance comedy with other genres; some form of equilibrium has to be introduced. The character specifications of my role, moreover, resemble the personality of my father -- and mine in relation to my son -- something in the quality of feeling, the emotional orientation that really makes me nervous about this particular performance; but not in a negative way.
The film deals with a very sensitive topic. I'm not sure if that will be a personal obstacle. So far the process is going better than I thought it would. I've been chatting with the director about all the specifics, then I work alone. My normal routine is usually done in front of a mirror where I figure out what the character is going to look like. If you saw me do it you'd think I'm a lunatic, but it has worked so far. Hopefully I'll give the film makers exactly what they want.
The role I like playing the most is that of the villain. When you are the romantic lead man usually you just give a couple of sensitive looks with your eyes and that's it. But with villains you get to do more acting, and the audience always anticipates the entry of the villain. It gives me good acting practice for my serious roles. At the moment I am also acting in a television serial drama called Khan Al -Qanadeel (Lanterns Khan). But that type of acting has never been a major challenge for me. Basically, one reads the script and starts acting right away. It's just not as satisfying. The shooting will end in a month's time and then I can devote myself to 45 Days, which will hopefully be out by the end of this year.
My greatest influences are the actors in old black-and-white films, both local and foreign. Those films depend more on the actors' performances than on editing or special effects. It was a more theatrical process, something to learn from. I started my life as a physician, then I became a musician, and finally an actor. Now that I've done it for so long, I don't think I'll want to do anything else until the day I die.
