Dorra

Egyptian Cinema has found them selves a dazzling new starlet fast tracked to stardom. She’s starred alongside some of the biggest icons and her notable role in “Al 3ar” last Ramadan on the silver screen was no exception… Dorra Zarrouk has graced the audiences yet again with significant talent and we couldn’t wait to sit with the Diva to talk about her life in and out of the lime light. In this exclusive interview we will get to know the real Dorra Zarrouk like never before. She is a beautiful, talented, self confident and well educated actress. She doesn’t worry about being the leading actress for any artistic production; in fact she’s more concerned about the quality of her role and scripts...

1. How do you choose your roles; and what is your criterion? Well, of course there are certain criteria I choose my roles upon. Firstly, if I like the role, I feel myself melt within it. Secondly - the director, script writer, Production Company, and the entire cast of the movie, or the series is important. It really counts. I usually follow my instincts. In general I am looking for diversity in my roles. For example my recent role on TV in “El 3ar” series, Samah - was a dream come true and if they had asked me to do any other role, I would have refused - I loved the whole cast. 2. Where do you stand from the Cinema? I am always asked this question and I ask myself the same. The previous couple of years were a hit for me in the TV, I don’t differentiate between TV and cinema, it’s all about the role. My beginnings were in the cinema, however the roles I was offered were not suitable and even if I was offered good ones, the timing was not appropriate. I believe itwas ill fortune since sometimes even the whole project halts. As you know, the Cinema industry is slightly suffering, and the quantity of the productions are not the same as

before. I would prefer to be present in TV with a distinguished role rather than being in the cinema with a no mark role.

3. What is next for you?
There would be a couple of TV roles for next Ramadan, because I am a little bit confused as both are great roles, hopefully I would be present in the cinema. I still can not declare any names before I sign the contract.

4. What is the difference between the Egyptian and Arab drama?
The Egyptian drama has always been the leader in the TV and cinema productions, I can tell that the difference is starting to diminish, specially that the Syrian drama has proved itself and it is evident that there is a lot of cooperation between the Egyptian and Syrian drama in terms of directors and actors working on both sides.

5. Honestly, who is the best TV actor in your opinion?
It is very difficult to generalize because every year there is an actor presenting an outstanding performance; there are some actors who are the pillars of the drama and are not liable to be debated upon such as; Yehia El Fakharany, Youssra, Laila Elwy and Nour El Sherif. At the same time we must give the credit to this year’s successful actors such as Iyad Nassar and Khaled el Sawy, just a few to mention.

6. You have participated in two international movies such as “Louisa’s Journey”; can you tell us about your experience in these movies, and in your opinion what does the Egyptian cinema lack to be internationally acknowledged?
Louisa’s journey is a French production and by coincidence I was chosen to partake in it because they were filming part of the movie in Tunisia. As you know that Tunisians speak fluent French. And also I took part in a historical English movie with a very small role. I don’t consider these roles actual experiences in the international arena because I did not seek them; in addition I believe that certain serious and more organized steps need to be taken in this aspect. I also participated in a Tunisian production “Nadia and Sara” which was totally in the French language. I think that in order to be internationally recognized we should tackle local problems and issues, many countries such as India, Iran and countries in South America have won international awards such as the Oscars and the Palm D’or by doing this. Youssef Shaheen’s movies are translated in the French language, he is an international icon, and in addition Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize by tackling these local issues and ideas and Youssry Nasrallah whose movies have been broadcasted in RT channels. Many producers prefer to focus on the profits rather than international presence. Wahed Sefr and “Raseal El Bahr” have won several awards in the international festivals which should make us proud and work harder.

7. What is your opinion on the following saying? “Professional and successful women are not that lucky in the personal life”… I am not convinced with this saying; there are many examples of women who were successful on both sides, however I can not deny that professional career should’nt affect the personal life. I believe that in general there should be a balance in her life, and she should be successful in any aspect whether related to her career or personal life. 8. What kind of music do you listen to? Fairouz, I have her CD’s in my car; I listen to a lot of radio too since you hear a lot of different new songs, I also listen to English and French music.

9. Briefly tell us what you think of the following names?
Yourssa: It’s very difficult to talk about Youssra in 3 words… She’s a beautiful, role model and a professional icon.
Adel Imam: El Zageem, (the leader), encouraging new talents, and the one and only.
Hend Sabry: Successful, intelligent, and enlightened.
Mona Zaki: Talented, one the best actresses in her generations, close to the heart.
Mena Shalaby: Very active, talented and has a distinct soul.
Amr Diab: Excellent, he is the star through out the generations, number one singer, charismatic, and very smart.
Saber El Robaie: Distinctive voice, respectful, talented and has a sense of humor.
Tamer Hosny: Succeeded in a very short time, intelligent.
Ghada Abd El Rezk: Professional actress, charismatic.
Ahmed Rezk: Kind, sincere, a very convincing actor, a good friend, I congratulate him on his new baby Yehia
Ahmed Ezz: A cinema star by all means, charismatic, loved, intelligent, has a sense of humor.
Ahmed El Sakka: A successful star, close to the people and diversified in his roles, icon to all the youth, a true man.
Karim Abdel Aziz: He is a jean premier, can play all kind of roles. He has a sense of humor and is capable of acting tragedy and comedy by the same token.
Mostafa Shaaban: He is so kind, respectful, helpful, and a clever actor.
Hesham Selim: Wow, I love him so much. He is so convincing and belongs to the easy, spontaneous school of acting.

10. Let’s move to another element in our interview in relation to what you said in the newspapers and yourcomments on it?
A. “The most difficult scene in El 3ar series was my death scene”; yes, I said so. It is very difficult to act being dead. We haven’t experience death before, the actual way of killing and all the impressions you need to visualize for the people. I was shooting for a whole day and I was very tired and that was the last scene of the day. When I completed shooting I wasn’t thoroughly convinced with my performance, so I called the entire cast to ask for their opinion. They all congratulated me and said it wouldn’t be better.
B. “I agreed to act El Aar series immediately”; Yes, I said so. It was so weird I didn’t hesitate at all because of the paper and the movies magic. The script is great. Ahmed Abou Zaid did his best in this masterpiece. Usually I think a lot before signing any new work but this time I was totally sure of myself.

11. What do you think about Al Ahly Vs El Taragy match?
I was sure that what happened will never affect the relationship between the two countries as we have very strong bonds. At the end it is a football match and it happens a lot in all kinds of matches all over the world.

12. What do you think about the conflict between Fateh and Hamas moves?
I am really sad about what is happening, the Palestinian conflict is affecting the Palestinians themselves more than any other party. Palestinians should unite their efforts and work together to solve this perpetual issue not to fight with each other. We all dream about peace in the Middle East. They have a lot of problems that need to be solved. They should dedicate all their efforts together to solve Palestine problems and fight for their independency.

Dorra thank you so much for this nice interview, and I hope it was up to your expectations.
I am the one who should thank you, it was really a nice and fruitful interview, and we discussed a lot of important and appealing issues that I was delighted to discuss…