Egyptian artist Salma Abu Deif is living in a state of happiness and recovery, due to the success she achieved in her first step toward absolute championship through the series “Highest Viewing Rate,” and the great reactions, whether from the “social media” audience, those around her, or even from the audience. In the street, on the character “Shaima” or on the series in general, which Salma sees as placing a huge responsibility on her during the next stage, especially since she did not expect success to be of this kind.
This dialogue revolves around the series, the character “Shaima”, and other questions.
* Who offered you your role in the series, and did you agree to it directly?
The production company offered me the series to present the character “Shaima,” and when I learned the character’s nature, I was terrified. The character was completely far from me, and I had never presented it before. When I met the director, Yasmine Ahmed Kamel, I found her preparing all the details of the series and the character. Everything was in her head. When she started telling me about the character, I was very impressed with the character and the state of the series as a whole, and everything was fresh in her mind, as if she saw it before we started filming any scene.
* Was the role complete or were there any changes in it?
The paper was beautifully written, by author Samar Taher and director Yasmine Ahmed Kamel, and the characters were drawn with care and precision, but we talked a lot and discussed everything big and small. We did not leave anything to chance, but rather we talked about everything, and we added some details and some sentences of dialogue. , until the character is completely complete.
* Was the style in which Shaima spoke written?
– Certainly, everything related to the character is written in detail, including her clothes, her external appearance, and her psychological state. During the preparation stage, I sought the help of a girl close to the character “Shaima”, whose name is Mai. I sat with her for several sessions, learned many details from her, and learned from her how to speak. Laila Zaher and I used to go to her, sit with her and learn a lot from her throughout the preparation period and after filming began.
* Some criticized “Shaima” and her sister for exaggerating in presenting the image of a popular girl?
– As I said, using a real character from the region was like a private lesson in preparing for the character, and May always told me that the popular girl speaks this way, and she always speaks with her hands, and the criticisms were in the first episode, and I think it is very important to watch the first five Episodes at least, until the vision of the character and the rest of the characters is clear, and the viewer has a vision of the character, the circumstances of her life, the way she speaks, dresses, and lives. Talking at least five episodes before would be a hasty judgment, but thank God the vision changed completely with the succession of the episodes.
* The outlook changed successively, so what were the reactions, and how did you deal with them?
Praise be to God, the reactions at the end of the series were beyond description, and I was literally “flying with joy,” even though at first I did not comprehend this magnitude of the great success achieved by the series.
* Did you love Shaima, sympathize with her, or condemn her for what she did?
– I loved Shaima and sympathized with her, because she is a victim, a victim of her circumstances and society, which is what she summarized in her speech during the trial scene.
* In your opinion, is the ending convincing, or did you hope for Shaima’s innocence?
– The judiciary rules based on the papers and documents in front of it, and this is what the great artist Ahmed Badir explained through the character of the judge ruling in the “Shaima” case, indicating that the judiciary does not rule based on feelings or emotions, as ignorance of matters does not exempt from responsibility, otherwise there will be no deterrent. In front of everyone who tries to do wrong against himself or society.