A tale of good versus evil remains the focus of Khaled Youssef's new movie Rayes Omar Harb.
Does evil always overcome the good in humans? How far would one go to obtain money, pleasure and power? Those are the questions director Khaled Youssef asks in his new Arabic film Rayes Omar Harb.
Salamah plays the role of Khaled, a young man who is recruited by a gambling casino and is thus rejected by his family. The story kicks in when Khaled falls in love with two women at the same time. The first is Habiba (Al Khashab), a client in his casino who picks him up for a one-night stand. The second is Zeina (Abdel Razek), a gambling addict.
e+ caught up with the director and stars of the movie at its premiere in Dubai on June 19. Abdel Razak says of her character, "I play Zeina, a girl who sells herself, her dignity and life for the sake of gambling." Asked whether she was hesitant about playing such a controversial role, given the conservative nature of the Arab world, she says, "It's expected that some will like the film and others won't. Those who reject it at first will come to like it with time."
Al Khashab stars as the other girl who has an affair with Khaled, while tending to her ill husband. Like Abdel Razek, Al Khashab appears in a few explicit scenes that have resulted in criticism by religious circles in Egypt. "This has been the case with all my previous roles. Some people accept them while others don't. All we are trying to do is send a message about casino life and highlight the battle between good and evil," Al Khashab says.
As for main man Salamah, he says that he chose the role because he felt it was high time he took on a challenge like Khaled.
In the film, Khaled's character is torn between being a tough recruit who pressures himself to become a master in the casino world and a young man who has lost his family, dreams and control of his life.
Director Youssef says that the film has political, social and religious dimensions. The domination of good by evil is a universal issue and plays a very large part in the Arab world's politics, society and relations with other countries and global superpowers.
Commenting on the controversy of the explicit sexual scenes that dominated certain parts of the film, Youssef says, "In this film, I presented my vision to the audience. Those who think certain parts should be removed are entitled to their own opinion. This was my opinion as the director of the film."
