Khaled El-Hagar has a self-confessed soft spot for musicals. He’s seen Saturday Night Fever (1977) 45 times and Grease (1978) 50 times. The critically acclaimed filmmaker reveals that he adores Cabaret (1972) and frequently catches himself humming tunes from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

Currently wrapping up post-production on his big-budget musical extravaganza Mafish Gheir Keda (Nothing But This), El-Hagar is riding a skyrocketing career that has him straddling two continents: He is attempting to establish himself in England while at the same time expanding his local repertoire.

Mafish Gheir Keda has a star-studded cast crossing at least three different generations. Topping the bill is box office sensation Nabila Ebeid, returning to the silver screen after a three-year hiatus following her starring role in Qasaqis El-Oshaq (Lovers’ Snippets). The rest of the cast includes superstar Khaled Abul Naga, Rola Mahmoud and Arwa, not to mention easily the most influential figure in local contemporary mainstream music, Mohammed Mounir.

Ebeid plays the role of a mother who raises her two talented daughters, Rasha and Dina (played by Rola and Arwa, respectively), planting a passion for singing and dancing into their hearts. Trouble comes knocking when one shoots to stardom much to the envy of her ‘less fortunate’ sister.

Last time I met with El-Hagar (see January 2006 issue of Egypt Today), the musical feature was still just an idea in his mind. A lot has happened since then. A few weeks ago I caught up with El-Hagar upon his return to Cairo to complete the post-production process of Mafish Gheir Keda with renowned composer/musician Omar Khairat before submitting it to take part in the official competition of the 30th Cairo Film Festival (November 28–December 8).

The circumstances surrounding this movie were a bit unusual. I didn’t receive a script for it — we literally created it from scratch. I was sitting with Azza Shalaby, writer of Asrar El-Banat (Girl’s Secrets), in Cairo’s Downtown Greek Club discussing the possibility of collaborating on a musical feature film I was far more impressed by Chicago (2002) than by Moulin Rouge (2001). Anyway, both made me think it a good idea to make a musical using actors who weren’t necessarily singers.

Exactly. And that’s what we tried to do with Mafish Gheir Keda. For instance, the song you can hear now [from the recording studio next door] that’s Khaled Abul Naga performing a song for a scene.

Azza Shalaby introduced me to a play written by Kawthar Mostafa, based on Bertolt Brecht’s famous [choral] ballet Seven Deadly Sins. We contacted her, and she was more than happy with our idea of a film adaptation of her play. We then talked to Nabila Ebeid, with whom I was planning to do another film, and she was equally happy with the idea. We immediately started working on the movie, with Azza as screenwriter and Kawthar providing lyrics for all 17 songs.

As the film developed, some dialogue scenes were converted to songs between the characters. I was involved in the rewriting; it took us almost a whole year to reach a final shooting script. The lyrics were then shipped over to Omar Khairat, who composed the music for the songs, did the musical arrangements and conducted the musicians.

When we started the casting process, Khaled Abul Naga, with whom I had previously worked on Hob El-Banat, immediately accepted the role. The rest of the cast, like Arwa, Mohammed Mounir and Rola, were shocked when they read the script. They had never seen anything like it. With Mohsen Nasr as director of photography, Manar Hosny as editor and Nihad Bahgat as set designer, our crew was complete. ART and Etehad El-Fananin were both enthusiastic about producing the film, which was budgeted at LE 7 million, and it took off from there!

We first met in Belgium, where she had come to see my film Room to Rent. We instantly became friends and ever since, we get together every time I come to Cairo.

As regards our professional relationship, Nabila Ebeid belongs to a golden generation dedicated to its ‘craft’ — exactly like Layla Elwy and Mervat Amin, both of whom I’ve worked with before. Nabila is always the first to arrive on set. She usually waits in her dressing room until it’s time for the cameras to start rolling and then she comes out, does her scenes and disappears back into her room until it’s time for her next scene. She is very professional and focused.

Through the title, we ask a fundamental question: Is this the only way for someone to become a superstar? Nothing but this? No other way? The mother is just as ambitious as her daughters when it comes to their dreams of money and fame. But during their journey to stardom, they discover they’ve lost the family ties that used to bond them.

It is also an examination of the current environment within the music industry. The more a star is criticized and the more he or she becomes controversial, the more his or her paycheck increases. When I taught acting, most students sought starring roles that would turn them into an overnight success story. Delivering a good performance wasn’t high on their list of priorities. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame regardless of their talent. This is a disease from which the local music industry currently suffers.

[Khaled Abul Naga walks into the room, taking a break from dubbing.]

El-Hagar: During the shooting I discovered that inside me lays an actor and inside Abul Naga lives a director. We kept reminding ourselves of our jobs. (Laughs)

Abul Naga: Before [the cameras were] rolling, he was dancing instead of me. The set was real fun.

[He leaves almost as quickly as he entered]

We had some production problems that we managed to solve at the end. Also, Rola Mahmoud had a car accident that caused a serious back injury. She spent a month and a half in the hospital. Luckily, she had already completed 85 percent of her scenes. We waited until she recovered because we didn’t want to cancel the rest of her appearances so as not to jeopardize the film’s dramatic sequence.

Musicals are hard to digest everywhere. People are not used to them. We plan to release the film commercially during the mid-year ‘exam season’ this coming January so as not to compete with the Eid films.

I try to restrain myself from expecting to win anything. In one festival you could win the Grand Prize and in another you get nothing. For instance, Hob El-Banat, despite being a romantic comedy, was screened at a festival as having a political theme. I was given an award because the jury thought the movie gave some hope to the people.

They are interpreted differently. For instance, Hob El-Banat was seen from a feminist point of view because the main characters are free-spirited sisters who are independent and go out to smoke sheesha and all that.

As for Mafish Gheir Keda, I expect foreign audiences to be surprised when they discover that we have talent shows like The X Factor and wannabes singing in lavishly produced music videos.

Yes. I have succeeded in finding some UK financing to shoot a few scenes with the cast I want. The scenes will serve as a pilot or demo reel for producers to green-light the complete project.

Bokra Leena (Tomorrow is Ours) is another film for which I got financing from Rotterdam, Holland. It is a political drama about terrorism that will also star Khaled Abul Naga. Then there’s another Egyptian project called Farah Leila (Leila’s Wedding) that I wrote for Leila Elwy.

I am planning to shoot Sex for Happiness there. Birmingham is an industrial city and the second capital of the UK. I have chosen it to be the setting of my next film because this is where my wife works and where we have lived for a long time.  et