AFTER disappearing from the silver screen two years ago, Egypt's comic sensation Mohamed Saad is back with his new film 8 Giga, in which he plays one of the Egyptians' favourite characters - el-Limby - an idiot, who constantly puts his foot in it, much to the delight of the audience. The famous comedian plunged into obscurity after starring in Illi Bali Balak in 2003. Saad first stumbled onto the screen eight years ago with his film El-Limby, which was such a roaring box office success that the producers agreed to produce a series of films about the further comic adventures of el- Limby. El-Limby grossed around LE30 million, a very impressive sum. Meanwhile, in 8 Giga, Saad plays a lawyer, who has a pronounced stutter, leading to constant disasters in the courtroom, as he tries to defend his clients. The comedian denies that he's stuck with el-Limby and will never be able to play any other kind of characters. He describes el- Limby, a character he created in collaboration with scriptwriters, as ‘inexhaustible'. Although he admits that the new challenge is his biggest yet, he seems to be confident that the cinema halls will be packed with his fans. Displaying much more confidence in his acting talent than the skills of his scriptwriters and directors, Saad says he'll be playing the lead role in a TV serial called “One Thousand Limbys” next year, adding that film buffs across the Arab world all love the clumsy el-Limby. The critics believe that the comedian and his producers, Wael Abdalla and Ahmed el-Sobki, will not disappoint with 8 Giga, although they're well aware that Egyptian audiences are no longer enthusiastic about comic films alone. Local film critics agree that action movies and romances are also proving very popular. Perhaps Comedian Saad is trying to become Egypt's next Ismail Yassin, the late comedian, who personified the kind, easygoing type in dozens of films. Meanwhile, the release of 8 Giga has triggered an unhappy war between the big film distribution companies. Confident of the success of the new film, they're all fighting for the rights to screen it in the cinema halls they own or run.
