Friday, Oct 19, 2007
Cairo: For most Egyptians, King Farouk, the country's last monarch, was a womaniser and a drunkard. A TV serial, produced by a Saudi satellite channel, challenges this decades-old perception of Farouk, who was deposed in 1952.
In one scene in King Farouk the monarch is seen sitting down in the company of friends in a casino. "No. This is against Islam," he says when offered a glass of wine.
"The legitimacy of the July 1952 movement of the Free Officers and its overthrow of King Farouk was based on his corruption and misrule," wrote columnist Salah Montasser recently in the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram.
"Farouk's history was completely erased from Egyptian books and his portraits, appearing in old films, were blackened, thereby producing a generation ignorant of facts of history. This TV serial has changed the longstanding stereotype of Farouk."
Mixed reaction
Since the series, dramatising the life of Farouk since his birth in 1920 until his death in 1965, was shown on the Saudi-owned TV MBC in mid-September, it has generated mixed reaction in Egypt.
Egyptian teledramatist Lamees Gaber, who wrote the script for the series, says she spent 15 years searching for an Egyptian company to produce her work. Eventually, it was a Saudi company that bankrolled the epic, lavishing an estimated $4 million (Dh14.5m) on its production.
"The Saudi royal family was always good to King Farouk," said Egyptian historian Mohammad Tharwat. "They supported him when he went into exile in Europe after the 1952 revolution. So, it comes as no surprise that the Saudi series paints a rosy picture of him," he told Gulf News. "This series does not re-tell history as its makers allege. It fabricates it," argued Tharwat, an author of a book on Egypt's first president Mohammad Naguib. Agreeing, celebrated Egyptian teledramatist Osama Anwar Okasha warns the series "may revive sympathy for the monarchy."
King Farouk starring the Syrian actor Taym Al Hassan, has likewise produced a heated debate in the local media. The state-run magazine Rose Al Yousuf assailed the drama, accusing it of trying to revive the monarchy in Egypt. The independent newspaper the Addustour known for its anti-government stance, devoted its Wednesday edition to retracing Farouk's era.
The controversial serial, directed by veteran Syrian Hatem Ali, was not broadcast on Egyptian television. Officials deny that its theme was behind the decision not to air it.
"There were many local productions, which had to be given priority in going on air," said an official, who asked not to be named.
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
