Khaberni - Actress Ilham Shaheen revealed the role she always dreamed of portraying, which she strived to achieve in every possible way, but was unable to do so due to production reasons.
During her appearance at the "The Best" festival, Ilham stated that she had wished to embody the character of Queen Hatshepsut, the first woman to rule in history with full authority, and added: "I was the first one to say that I would go crazy and take on a role of a queen from the Pharaohs, and I really wanted to play the role of the first queen to rule in history, Queen Hatshepsut."
She revealed that she indeed started the steps to execute the project by saying, "It was written indeed, and I went to Mr. Youssef Shaheen, and he told me: 'Great idea... but it needs strong financing.'"
Shahein pointed out that production difficulties prevented the execution of the project, explaining: "We couldn't achieve it production-wise, and the project was halted, and unfortunately, Mr. Youssef Shaheen passed away... thus the project died."
At the end of her talk, Ilham Shahein expressed her hope that there would be renewed interest in presenting historical works about Egyptian queens, due to the strength and rich cultural heritage these characters represent.
Ilham Shahein clarifies the truth about her mockery of Lebleba
Ilham Shahein had faced widespread criticism after a video surfaced showing her talking with actress Hala Sedki at the moment when actress Lebleba spoke during a tribute session for the late director Youssef Shahein at the "El Gouna Film Festival," where she was accused of mocking Lebleba, and Ilham responded to those criticisms saying: "I was dying to go to the bathroom, and Hala Sedki told me it's far and we're almost done with the seminar, she joked with me and we laughed, and I signaled to Yousra and told her to hurry up I want to go to the bathroom, it was just a joke between two friends, there was no mockery or anything, and nothing inappropriate happened against Lebleba, because she's my friend and my lifetime companion."
Ilham Shaheen concluded her speech by affirming the strength of the relationship that binds her with Lebleba, noting that nothing could emanate from her that might be perceived as an insult to her, especially during an occasion to honor the great director Youssef Shahein, with whom they both had prominent artistic collaborations.
