“Happiness Owner” Back to Acting

eatureF “Happiness Owner” Back to Acting

How Egyptian Comedienne- Businesswoman-Talk Show Hostess Carved Success

By Sarah Gamal

An unusual, quick-witted character with an overwhelming presence, able to move between characters with impressive smoothness, never failing to make her audience laugh to the point of crying and getting their full focus, she is Esaad Hamed Younis Jamal Al-Din, or as she is known in the artistic community as Esaad Younis. The philanthropist Essad Younis is aptly called a comedian actress who has made a solo name for herself in the world of presenting programs to become «Sahebat Al Saada/Happiness Owner”, who brought back the joy to programs, in addition to her multiple talents as a satirical writer, producer and distributor. She presented to the cinema many important films and worked with many stars. She is distinguished by a unique mind in the ideas she presents, beside her magical mixture of happiness and success. The Egyptian actress returned recently to the cinema screen after an absence that lasted about 15 years, through «200 Pounds», a movie which is currently shown in theaters, since her role in «The Yacoubian Building» movie. She embodies the character of «Aziza Al-Sayed», who plays a driving role in the events of the film, and stamps her name on a note of 200 pounds. The events of the film revolve in a social framework around a -200pound banknote, which is transmitted from one person to another from different social classes and residential places, in 9 different and varied stories, and includes situations which are comic as well as tragic, each with a hero. Esaad Hamed Gamal El-Din Younis was born on April ,12 1950 in Cairo, and her mother decided to call her “Esaad” (literally means; make people happy) to bring good luck and goodness to her father so that he would return safely from his trip in England. Her father belonged to a family of notables in Talkha in the Dakahlia governorate, and his father - Assad›s grandfather - was the mayor of Talkha. Her father worked as a war pilot and was an officer, in addition to his work as a journalist at “Rose El-Youssef” newspaper.

HER EARLY START

Esaad trained to work on radio on the European program while she was in the first year of her studies at the Institute of Tourist Guidance. After obtaining her bachelor›s degree in 1968, she worked as an assistant in the Middle East program, and then she had a special program on Middle East Radio. She began entering the field of acting through small roles in some works in the mid-seventies, including the movies “An Unfinished Crime”, “Me, My Daughter and Love”, “The Love Ends”, “The Queen and I”, and “«A Rendezvous with Soso”. She conquered the hearts of her fans from the ocean to the Gulf like a piercing arrow through her golden opportunity in the first distinguished show in 1977, where she presented her first dazzling roles, which highlighted her comedic talent, and announced the birth of a new star, in the series “Mizo’s Tale” with Samir Ghanem. With the beginning of the eighties, Esaad Younis started to achieve a noticeable spread and different performance in many works, such as; “The Resignation of an Atom Scientist” movie, the play of “Arousa Tajnin”, “Mkhaimer Daiman Ready” movie, “Shaaban Below Zero” movie, and many more. In 1985, Esaad presented her first cinematic writing experience through the “Al-Majnoona” movie, in which she also starred alongside actor Mahmoud Abdel Aziz In 1986, Esaad had a date with impressive success, and that was in the series of “Bakiza and Zaghloul”, in which she achieved impressive success at the level of the writer and

Egyptian Actress, presenter and producer Essad Younis. no less impressive success for Essad the actress, and it was converted into a movie in the late eighties also. FIRST ARAB TABLOID TALK SHOW Essad did not forget her beginnings in presenting programs, so she returned through the «Free Space» program on Orbit network in the nineties, and then came back with the most famous program «Sahebat Al Saada/Happiness Owner», which has become one of the most important programs on the scene in the Arab world, after she rejected many of the programs that were offered to her before «Sahebat Al Saada/Happiness Owner». Since its very first episode, «Sahebat Al Saada/Happiness Owner» had hit most of the Oprah show’s fans with nostalgia. Some might also claim that Essad has replaced Winfrey in the Egyptian audience’s hearts. In this regard, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi honored her on International Women›s Day for her program, and for her keenness to encourage the Egyptian industry and food products in special sections of her program.

PRODUCTION COMPANY AND CONTROVERSY

In 2000, Essad founded the Arab Film Production and Distribution Company and chaired its board of directors, while the property belonged to her husband, a Jordanian businessman. She gradually moved away from acting as of 2001 and devoted herself to managing the company. Al Arabia Cinema Production & Distribution (ACPD) is a film distribution and production company based in Egypt. It has distribution networks spanning the Arab region. It owns Renaissance Cinemas operating 21 cinemas in Egypt covering 99 screens. It is also a member of the Mediterranean Distribution Network. Over the past two decades, the company was able to produce many films and distribute nearly 100 films inside and outside Egypt. Among the most famous films produced by the company

The Egyptian actress returned recently to the cinema screen after an absence that lasted about 15 years, through «200 Pounds», a movie which is currently shown in theaters.

were “Love Journey», “The Mediterranean Man”, “A Divorce Lawyer” ... etc. In addition, after the success it achieved in the Egyptian market for the film industry only, the company decided to expand and link the eastern civilization with the western civilization by bringing Egyptian films to the world. In a previous television interview, Essad justified its founding of the company with its aim to create a system similar to developed countries in the arts industry, explaining that she accepted its presidency because its ambitions did not stop at acting. A storm of attack was sparked by the activity of Essad and her husband’s company, and many workers in the showbiz accused her of “monopoly.” The late director Medhat El Sebaei, the husband of the producer, Nahid Farid Shawky, launched a war against the company through a series of articles, accusing the company of trying to seize Egyptian Cinema archives. The Jordanian businessman, Esaad’s husband, had bought, through his company, about %90 of the most important Egyptian films, and also bought all the cassette production companies with all its old lyrical heritage and modern musical production. In a previous television interview, Essad justified the founding of the company with her aim to create a system similar to developed countries in the arts industry, explaining that she accepted its presidency because its ambitions did not stop at acting.

ESSAD AS A WRITER

To satisfy her passion for writing, Esaad Younis continued to write a weekly article in an Egyptian newspaper and also in an Egyptian magazine, before she stopped writing articles a few years ago. However, she launched more than one book, including “Nora’s Terrified Diary,” “Beggars” and “As You I Say It To You.”; and it was also the name of her program, which she presented in 2016 on a radio station and achieved great success, during which she touched on the stories of artistic and historical personalities. During the month of Ramadan 2017, Younis presented a radio program, entitled «May the Prosperity Last/Yadom El Ez».