The renowned playwright and screenwriter Faisal Nada passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81. He was born in the Cairo neighbourhood of Abdine in 1940 and graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Commerce in 1963. He was a member of the university's theatre troupe and embarked on his script writing career during his university years, when he started to write for the stage. He wrote the comic stage's timeless classic Al-Motazawigoun (The Married Couples, 1976), starring Samir Ghanem, George Sidhom and Sherine. The play had unprecedented success and is still present in the collective memory of generations. He also wrote some of the most unforgettable plays and films in Egyptian history, including Ahlan Ya Doktor (Hi Doctor, 1980), directed by Hassan Abdel-Salam and starring Samir Ghanem, George Sidhom and Dalal Abdel-Aziz. He also wrote the screenplay of the film Nehayet Ragol Tazawag (The End of a Man Who Married, 1983), starring Samir Ghanem, Poussy, Hala Fakher and Ali Al-Sherif, and directed by Adel Sadek. But his best loved film may be Yarab Wallad (A Boy Child, Amen, 1984), starring Samir Ghanem, Ahmed Rateb, Issad Younis, Dalal Abdel-Aziz, Farid Shawki and Karima Mukhtar, directed by Omar Abdel-Aziz. Nada wrote the script of the film Al-Abkari wal Hob (The Brilliant and Love, 1987), directed by Ahmed Al-Sabawi, starring Farouk Al-Fishawi, Elham Shahine, Mahmoud Al-Gendi, Hoda Ramzi and Aida Riad. In 1990, he collaborated with director Inas Al-Deghedi on the film Qadiyet Samiha Badran (The Case of Samiha Badran), starring Nabila Ebeid, Youssef Shaaban, Salah Qabil. He wrote the film Al-Gabalawi (1991), starring Kamal Al-Shinawy, Samah Anwar, Hisham Selim, Shokri Sarhan and Aida Riad, directed by Adel Al-Assar, and collaborated with Tarek Al-Nahri on Gahim Emraa (A Woman's Hell, 1992), starring Fifi Abdou, Ibrahim Nasr, Nahla Salama, Alaa Morsi and Ashraf Abdel-Baki. Nada also wrote for television, and Wa Hazamatny Emraa (A Woman Defeated Me, 1998), directed by Youssef Abu-Seif, featuring Mahmoud Yassin and Shams and Salah Abdallah, is among his most successful credits.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 August, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
