Bold and graceful
Youssra, Egyptian film sensation, is forthright about her views. Having portrayed bold characters, and having ruffled many a feather — be it through reported lawsuits against slander or by being opinionated about her work, she speaks her mind. And enjoys every minute of life. Rajeev Nair met her in Dubai
YOUSSRA arrived in style. At Madinat Jumeirah, the latest addition to Dubai’s hospitality sector, the media waited for less than one hour, the customary wait before the grand entry of any celebrity.
Showtime was hosting the Egyptian film actress, who now features in the digital satellite pay television network’s promotion campaign. There, on-screen, the projector beams her to life, returning home from one tiring day at work. Straight-away, she switches on the television, and in no time is hooked to the diversity of the Showtime bouquet.
Along with the images on television, Youssra laughs, cries, twitches her face in mock anger, flashes a feeling of hurt, and all the while, unknown to her, a thief is getting away with her prized possessions. Not much later, the television attracts him too, and soon, he is seated by the actress, shedding copious tears at the on-screen happenings. And Youssra is jolted back to reality to see a thief in her living room. She screams, he screams, and Showtime makes a statement: ‘Getaway…Anytime.’
The sensational film artist with over 70 films to her credit and probably as many awards including the prestigious best actress award at the Middle East Oscars 1999, say Showtime officials, was chosen because she believes in the product; Youssra has been a Showtime subscriber. The PR note had quoted the actress saying, “No other television network takes me away anytime I want.”
“It was important to the integrity of the campaign that Youssra not only believes in the product but lives with it too,” says Peter Einstein, chief executive, Showtime Arabia.
Minutes later, as a hushed silence of anticipation falls on the exquisitely adorned meeting room, the door opens, and in comes, Youssra. There is an added moment of silence before the claps began. Throwing smiles into the air, waving her hands across the scribes, identifying someone in the crowd, she is immediately ready for the Q&A. “In Arabic or English only, please,” she smiles, and the scribes are smiling with her.
There is a self-assured dignity to her bearing. The actress who has done such bold roles — both in films and on television — as to generate heated debates, sure enough, knows what she wants from life. Which is why she endorses the fun-dance retinue that the television channels churn out explicitly.
“You cannot stop having fun,” she says. “You must enjoy yourself, have a good laugh, cry a little, talk serious a little — that’s life. I am not against it (such celebrations). You can’t have serious poetry alone and live on that. You are human, you must have it all in life,” she says. “I think, if you cannot enjoy life, you cannot create, you cannot have a solution for anything. I am talking this from a very human point of view.”
The no-nonsense approach continues as she takes one question after another, never for a moment tongue-tied, and volleying back some queries to the scribes and even making them ponder on.
Here, sits the woman, much emulated by many an Egyptian youngster. Her layered blonde hair-do, her mannerisms, she sure has set hearts afire. Captivating moviegoers with films somewhat provocatively titled Countless Kisses, A Girl Seeking Love, A Smile is Not Enough and The Youth Dance on Fire, among others, Youssra fetched mass appeal via television too. Also involved in theatre, the actress has often been described as a tough-talker, who minces no words.
Starting her film career, way back in 1977, Youssra emerged a symbol of flamboyance in less than three years. She bagged her first major award in 1979, taking home the honour-acting award from the Film Committee Festival. At the Bahrain Actors Festival, she won the Golden Lioness, and Tunisia recognised her with an award for enhancing culture. Newspapers, critics and film festivals have honoured her commitment to her work, and she topped in the Top Ten polls by Nile TV in 1995 as the Best Egyptian Actress.
She was involved in the hosting of many festivals as official, and was associated with the Cartage Film Festival, Valencia Film Festival, and Cairo Film Festival.
Her self-confidence, it is reported, has prompted her to take people to court for sly comments, and yet, she enjoys the patronage of the press.
Youssra has always underscored her resolve to be fearless, and she asserts, she has been fortunate enough to be choosy about her roles. However, at the core, here is an individual who demands her privacy, who feels the need to be considered human, not an out of bounds star.
“Sometimes, people forget you are human,” Youssra told Time Out. “They want you to be perfect all the time. But you can’t. You are only human. You can’t be perfect all the time.”
Doing bold roles, some like her character of an aspiring singer who deserts her lover to marry a rich man in The Red Rose, which evoked a wave of debates, is not an aspect of her career that Youssra regrets. “I am proud of all my roles. If I haven’t loved them, if I haven’t believed in them, I wouldn’t have been doing them,” she adds.
Though she has been equally at ease doing television, theatre and films, Youssra says films are her favourite. “Because films are the most joyous and glamorous world. Television is a lot of hard work and you have to be very choosy. You must be careful enough to choose such characters that interest all the viewers. The television is easy to be switched off. I don’t want someone watching my programme to switch it off,” she says.
Having fetched much fanfare through her television programmes, she appreciates the medium as an art. “It inspires, it creates and it stretches the imagination. It transports you to another place,” she says.
She however is awed by the instant feedback theatre brings along. “Theatre is amazing,” Youssra says. “You don’t wait. It is all on the spot. You don’t wait for things to happen. The waving, the clapping, the cheering, it is all spontaneous and sudden.”
As a performer, she says, theatre is addiction. “And I love it.”
