Kuwait Times

Published Date: October 17, 2007
By Nawara Fattahova, Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Historical TV soap operas are popular and have many audiences as they are valuable pieces of art work. These TV soaps are carried out by more than one country, hence making these show multinational shows. Two of the most popular historical TV soaps broadcasted during this Ramadan were 'Khalid Bin Al-Waleed' and 'Antara Bin Shadad'.

Both works were produced by a Kuwaiti company and the staff working on the soap were mainly from Syria and Kuwait. The actors were from other countries and also participated on these shows. The shooting of these soaps were expensive as it took a long time to do and special effects were used in them.

A conference was held on Monday at the Palms Beach Hotel to receive the comments and reactions for these historical works. Some of the main actors attended to answer the questions of the media. Khalid Bin Al-Waleed 2, which was broadcasted this year, is the second part of the same soap showed last year.

Last year this soap received many critics, as Christian Syrian actor Saloom Haddad played the role of the main hero (Khlaild Bin Al-Waleed). Khalid was a famous Islamic military leader who fought the 'Kufar'. Haddad explained that there is no difference in Syria between Muslims and Christians. "I feel sorry to hear such comments, as my beliefs don't affect my acting of the role. Moreover as a Christian, I don't necessarily agree with all the Christian rules just as not every Muslim believes in the Qaida ru
les," he said.

Producing and showing the historical TV soaps is useful. "These shows bring information and knowledge to the audience much more than other TV programs. History is repeating itself, so it's useful to make these soaps like art work as the new generations may learn from it. It's good to show how the similar problems we are experiencing now were solved in the old times," said Mohammed Al-Anezi, the Executive Producer of the show.

These historical heroes can be idols for kids. "Before we had idols such as Superman and Batman. So why not having real heroes who lived in the past and had many achievements. We, as Muslims, are proud to have such characters in our history," Al-Anezi added.

Antara Bin Shadad is an old Arab character. The story of this show was written 1,000 years ago during the Abbasi reign. "We spent lots of time studying different historical books and sources to get the exact information about this character. We tried to give the audience a different way to watch this historical story," said Rami Hanna, the Director of the soap.

This TV soap also shows some important issues happening today. "We tried to highlight the discrimination issues of the old days. Antara was a black man and the son of a black female slave. Thus, he was brave and strong. The TV soap also shows the battles between various tribes for water and other issues," added Hanna.