Diaa Al-Mirghani for"Rosal Youssef Gate": My honor is well deserved… and long overdue

After a long career in theatre, cinema and drama, full of works, the distinguished artist Diaa Al-Mirghani was honored within the activities of the Egyptian Theater Syndicate of Acting Professions Festival. An emotional, touching meeting that witnessed his crying, applause from the audience, and widespread interaction on social networking sites.

In this special interview with the Rosal Youssef portal, the distinguished artist Diaa Al-Mirghani opened his heart to talk about his long career, the delay in honoring, his reproach to the artistic community, and the secret of the artistic chemistry between him and the leader Adel Imam.

– First of all, we congratulate you on this well-deserved honor. How did you receive it? First, this honor made me happy. This honor is well-deserved, but at the same time it came very late. I am not a “son of today” artist. Or one employer, but it started since the 1970s. I received my first award as a leading actor in popular culture in 1970, when I was part of the Minya Theater Troupe, before I graduated from the Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1976.

During my career, I presented many works in theatre, cinema, and television, but unfortunately these contributions were not paid attention to until now, after I became ill and unable to work. However, meeting the audience and their interaction during the tribute was a very precious moment. Their feelings and love were important.

But there are many who are honored "not important" In art and acting, there are also many artists who were honored very early with very few achievements and works, and my relationship with the audience is very great and their love is great, which nominated me to be among those who gave the acting profession many good works, and therefore the honor came late, but I was happy to meet the audience and appreciate the people, and those in charge of the festival saw for themselves how the audience loves me, and how much I am loved, and the audience sympathized with me, and the audience was amazed at the delay. My honour.

– During your artistic career, did you feel adequately appreciated by the environment?

Honestly, no. Because many of those who hold positions or responsibilities in the artistic community do not have the real tools to evaluate artists, and do not know the history of those they are honoring. Honors are often based on compliments or relationships, not on true artistic or audience standards.

But despite this, the audience remained the true standard for me, and they were the ones who finally did me justice. They are the ones who put moral pressure to restore my reputation and honor after all these years.

– How did you see the great interaction from the public on social media after the honor?

I was surprised.. What happened on Facebook and social media sites was like a storm of love. I received thousands of messages and comments from people saying that the honor was long overdue, and that I had deserved it for many years. This sincere interaction cannot be faked.

– Did you expect this honor at this time?

Honestly, no. I was going through difficult health conditions, had surgery that was unsuccessful, and had been absent from the artistic scene for three years. No one asked about me. It is as if the artist is not honored unless he is absent or dead. There are many reasons why I deserve to be honored so early. 

True honor is not a moment of celebration, but rather an appreciation for a journey and true giving. I never asked for it, nor did I complain about my illness, nor about my lack of appreciation, nor did I use my relationships to achieve it. Even my late brother Rajai Al-Mirghani, who was the representative of the Journalists Syndicate, did not take advantage of his presence in the press to talk about me or shed light on my work.

– We saw you crying during the moment of honor.. What was on your mind at that time?

I cried because I finally said… You cry when you deserve something and it comes when you are at the end of your life. Finally someone paid attention to what I presented. I felt that this moment came at the end of the journey, not at its peak. Acting is not just a profession for me, it is my livelihood and my faith. I did not own a business or a restaurant, only art.

My tears were an expression of the accumulations of long years of work without appreciation. Acting, for me, is a message, and countries that do not respect art do not rise up, because it is the mirror and voice of society. Any country without art is not a country.

– How do you describe your artistic journey that has spanned decades in theatre, drama and cinema?

I am just a citizen who loves his profession and defends it with all my energy. I never compromised my convictions, nor did I say that art is forbidden. On the contrary, I always believed in its role in building awareness. Art is a cultural necessity, and that is why I have always been keen to present works that leave an impact, even if it is simple.

I have had an absolute belief since my childhood that art has a role in life greater than the role of any other field. It is the lighthouse, as they say, a beacon for peoples to understand and believe in the role of art, literature, and culture. It is a struggle of a different kind, not the material one, but the moral one, the kind that builds peoples, and even now the public is talking about Najib Al-Rihani and Ali. Al-Kassar…the ancient artists before the art institutes used to dig with their hands in the rock.

– You formed a successful duo with the leader Adel Imam.. What is the secret of this understanding between you?

Adel Imam is a very smart artist, he monitors and follows everything new in the scene, and knows how to choose someone to share his work with. He always monitored the artistic movement and emerging artists because he was a star, and this is the secret of his stardom. And "consult with me" He was the one who asked me and said about me that I perform different roles with distinctive performances, and that I add to the work regardless of the scope of my role.

I performed multiple roles with him, including the character of “the terrorist, the oppressed,” and others, and it was a space for sincere artistic expression, not just a comedic or superficial performance.

– Your famous scene in the movie “The Embassy in Architecture” With Adel Imam when I said: (You are in your place, not here).. The audience is still talking.. What is your interpretation of this continuous echo?

This is just one scene in the movie. See how big its impact is, and see the amount of honesty in this scene. I was saying the words they always repeat, and the conflict that was between being a believing person and someone else, because faith is not terrorism. Here is the role of the artist to give the audience enlightenment. Therefore, art lives on and the audience still remembers this scene.

This scene is proof that honesty in performance is unforgettable. The simple sentence “Your place is not here.. Your place is above” It remained because it came from the heart, and because it carries real human dimensions.

This is the role of art, to shed light on people’s issues and moral conflicts in society. The same thing happened with my role in the movie “Bobos”, where I embodied the simple oppressed worker, and these models exist around us, and art consciously re-presents them.