Ahmed and Karim Fahmy, Maha and Ezzat Abo Ouf, Amy and Donia Samir Ghanim; the Egyptian cinema scene has been dominated by brothers and sisters for a very long time. Sometimes they resemble one another, other times they don’t — Ramez and Yasser Galal are the latter.
Ramez Galal is known for his annual Ramadan prank shows that started back in 2011. After numerous not-so-successful attempts in making movies, Ramez resorted to psychologically torturing celebrities — known as pranking, to him. A great majority of the Arab world look forward to witnessing his show every year. His list of victims include international stars such as Paris Hilton, Steven Segal, Antonio Banderas and Shah Rukh Khan.
When you come across Yasser Galal, you’ll find that it’s very hard to believe that he shares parents with – yes, wait for it — Ramez Galal!
Yasser started his career on the big screen in the late ’90s; he gained popularity when he shone in the following dramas: “Lan A’eesh fi Gelbab Aby,” “Nahno La Nazraa el Shawk,” and “Awlad Hadret al-Nazer.”
This year, Yasser’s performance in “Zel el Ra’ees,” where he plays a former security guard and a current businessman, is absolutely stunning which got us to wonder if maybe Yasser is the better Galal brother.
Despite having a massive following, Ramez — along with everyone that is associated with his show — receive criticism, mainly for making his guests go through traumatic, horrifying experiences.
Two months ago, TV presenter Tony Khalifa posted a video on YouTube where he calls Ramez out for being, well, Ramez. Khalifa was also horrified by the fact that his wife and kids wanted to join him on the prank show, after Ramez suggested that he wanted to include him in it.
Ramez has left a tremendous trail of enemies on his back. Egyptian lawyer and Chairman of Zamalek Sport Club, Mortada Mansour, happens to be one of them. Only recently, Mansour imposed financial penalties on one of his team players for participating in Ramez’s show; he also threatened to sue him for attempted murder and advised him to check himself in a mental institution.
On the other hand, Yasser has received much appraisal from critics and fans, emphasizing on the fact that a talented artist such as Yasser ought to be given this chance at an earlier time.
In his latest work for Ramadan, Yasser plays the role of Yahia, a businessman who happens to be a former security guard. It’s revealed that Yahia was among the officers who accompanied former president Hosny Mubarak in his visit to Ethiopia, where an assassination attempt took place. His performance is a tear-jerker, so make sure to have napkins next to you.
