Fall of the Greats and Rise of Young Stars: Critics Review 2013 Ramadan Shows

This year Ramadan drama season is over. Forty-three Egyptian dramas have been screened, four of which are sitcoms. interviewed critics Nader Adly, Ramy Abd El Razeq, Hanan Shuman and Walid Seif about what they think of those works.

The Big Stars' Fall; Critics views about the worst of this season

Critic Ramy Abd El Razeq says that despite the progress Egyptian drama witnessed this year, it's still considered as the fall of the big stars year due to the weak shows presented by big stars like Nour El Sherif, Yosra, Ilham Chahine and Laila Elwey. Those stars' works didn't survive the competition with what younger artists presented this year.Nader Adly saw those productions of famous Ramadan drama artists as insignificant, especially the show “Khalaf Allah” staring Nour El Sherif.

Among worst dramas presented this year in critics' view are 'Hekayet Hayah' starring Ghada Abd El Razeq, 'Farah Laila' with Laila Elwie and 'El Zoga El Tanya,' which the critics considered as a shock because it carries the name of a big director like Khairy Bshara.From her side critic Hanan Shuman said that in his new show 'Mazag El Kheir,' Mostafa Shaaban continues to be the masculine version of Nadia El Guindy, hinting at the sexual content that he keeps on presenting.Nader Adly sees Ramadan as a season of profit more than art for series producers. He also thinks that 'El Dayeaa' is one of the worst shows of this season accusing the screenplay of being preachy and leaving little up for interpretation.Critic Walid Seif saw that the third season of 'El Kebir Awy' did not include any innovation.

The Rise of New Drama; About This Year's Best

Critics praised some of this season's shows, at the forefront of them 'Bedoun Zekr Asmaa' which they considered to be a great comeback for the acclaimed screenwriter Wahid Hamed. They also praised screenwriter Mariam Naoum who spent a lot of effort on her two shows 'Zat' and 'Moga Hara.'Screenwriter Mohamed Amin Radi also got good reviews for his 'Niran Sadika.' As for directing, Khaled Marey came out on top of the those praised. Tamer Mohsen, Mohamed Yassin and director Kamla Abu Zikra received positive reviews as well. Concerning best actors and actresses for supporting roles critics praised Sayed Ragab, Sabry Fawaz, Tarek Lotfy, Safwa, Maaly Zayed, and Salwa Khatab. For best actors in leading roles came Eyad Nassar, Ruby, Ghada Abd El Razeq, Nelly Karim and Rania Youssef.