A small screen rising star

Young actress Maha Sabry has drawn the attention of Egyptian and Arab viewers through her roles in the two TV series "al-Ikhwa al-A'daa" [The Enemy Brothers] , and "al-Zouga al-Rabaa" [The Fourth Wife], which were both screened on TV channels during Ramadan. Interviewed by Arabstoday, Maha revealed that that her family was worried about her work as an actress as they found her forced to return home very late almost every night the filming of her scenes. "During the early days of my work as an actress, My brother was always attending the filming with me in order to bring me home after I finish my work. As he realised how tough was my job as an actress, he and my entire family began to support me to continue," said Maha. Perhaps Maha's role in al-Ikhwa al-A'daa was not as big as she wanted, but her true chance came in the social comedy, al-Zouga al-Rabaa. "I'm grateful to the director Magdi al-Hawari who picked me to this role only one day before they started the filming," she said. Maha revealed that she was supposed to take part in a third Ramadan series, al-Safaa [The Slap], but she eventually turned down the offer as the producer decided swap roles between her and another actress, the thing she had rejected. Although Maha has started her career with two movies, "Asafeer el-Nil" [Nile Birds] and "al-Academiya" [The Academy], she admits that her real breakthrough came through the TV drama. "I consider al-Zouga al-Rabaa as the turning point in my career. This series gave me a real push and I wish to build up on it," Maha said. Maha told Arabstoday that she considers the veteran Egyptian actress and singer Shadia as her role model, while she said that she sees Yasmin Abdelaziz as the closest model to her style among the younger generation. On her future plans, Maha said that she is currently reading the scripts of two movies, but she is yet to accept a role.