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Syrian actor Abbas al-Nouri, who is continuing filming the series 'Chicago Street', denies knowledge of a new series titled 'Kan Qalbi' alongside actress Caris Bashaar, with actor Doreid Lahham as guest star, and says: 'This talk was only mentioned in the media, and there is no such series. Perhaps those who talked about this work are planning a new one that brings together a group of actors, or maybe not, and maybe the title of the series "Ijaza" was replaced by another title. I was tied to a work called "Ijaza" and Caris Bashaar was nominated for its lead, along with other stars including Sulafa Mimar, and Professor Doreid Lahham was to participate as a guest star, but no agreement was reached between him and the production company, and perhaps the same applied to Caris Bashaar.'

Asked about his opinion on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on Syrian drama, which was already suffering from a notable decline in recent years, al-Nouri explains: 'This topic would take a long time to discuss. The crisis in Syrian drama is not due to the war and social differences in cultural and artistic institutions and others, but its crisis resembles that of drama in all third world countries, where capital experiments in the art industry as it does in other industries. They experiment in the tomato industry and suddenly move to the art industry, not only in Syria but throughout the Arab world. Money has no identity or nationality and it dominates, so it imposes its culture and everything it wants. This is a normal situation, and I am completely with it, because the experiments we undertake can sometimes succeed, sometimes fail, and sometimes get stuck. But drama in Syria has a special status, because the great past successes were based on the experiences of major stars who have passed away. Today, we suffer from restrictions in distribution, viewing, and follow-up, due to political considerations that have nothing to do with us, and these have caused Syrian drama to suffer from a split personality, as the artistic and cultural scene is divided between loyalists and opposition. I consider these labels ridiculous because culture is much bigger than politics.'

Model Dramas Asked about his opinion on joint drama, and whether it has compensated for Lebanese and Syrian drama in the Arab world, he says: 'I do not believe in this label. Joint drama existed in previous years through productions between Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria, and Syrian-Lebanese productions. In 2008, I had a joint experience through the series "The Invasion" which featured Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian, and Tunisian artists, reached the world, and won an Emmy Award. Current drama known as joint can rightly be called fabricated drama, where each child of the same family speaks a different dialect from their sibling. It is model drama, and the actor acts as a model, not a character.'

Al-Nouri's description of joint drama in this way does not mean he refuses to participate in it, as he confirms, as he considers there is a difference between the two issues. He says: 'In the past period, I participated in works with artist Ward al-Khal, who has history, experience, and value, and with a group of Lebanese actresses. Current joint drama is a marketing case, nothing more. Any discussion on this subject leads us to very sensitive doors, which involve belittling the status of the Syrian artist or the Lebanese artist, and this is absolutely incorrect. Joint drama has succeeded and contributed to the emergence of new faces, especially among actresses, but the pitfall it may fall into later is that it only highlights beautiful forms.'

Al-Nouri denied that he meant that Lebanese actresses participating in joint drama are beautiful but untalented, adding: 'They started focusing on a new generation whose only capital is beauty, far from talent. This applies to a large proportion of works, but not all.'

In light of the hidden conflict between joint drama stars, al-Nouri sees that the only beneficiary is not the Syrian actor or the Lebanese actress, but the money owner. But what about the stardom achieved by the actors who participated? He explains: 'Stardom existed, and it was never based on anything but stars.'

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Money and Stars Asked whether Syrian stars were wrong when they participated in what he called fabricated drama, and whether money was the main motive behind their decision, he replies: 'Of course money is the main reason for their participation, but I do not find that they were wrong because I also participated. Art is nothing but an experience of creativity, and through it the artist expresses his talent, whether in singing, music, painting, drama, cinema, television, or other arts. But can it be said that this drama failed? It is true that joint drama has its audience, but the art audience in this time has been infected by the political audience, and here comes the role of media that works to manufacture public opinion.'

Does he consider that joint drama has taken away from the path of local drama in Syria and Lebanon? He answers: 'In Lebanon, there are actors to whom we tip our hats in respect, for their history, effort, culture, and talent. But joint works have disrupted the entire map of the Lebanese drama scene. It is true that this scene cannot be abolished, because it includes geniuses with their name, history, presence, and importance confirmed by their experiences at all levels, cinematically, theatrically, and televisually. But no one has served them, due to the disruption that has become a real industry against all those who have merit. There is an assembly of those who do not have merit but beauty, and even if one of the beautiful ones has a small problem, it can be solved with a little silicone, nice clothes, and good makeup, to appear in the best light, but she will remain just a beautiful woman and never be an actress. This applies to actresses and actors alike. The drama scene in Syria is no different; it is very close to it, also due to disruption.'

Chicago Street Al-Nouri justified the gathering of stars and the weight of names in Syrian drama, including the series 'Chicago Street' which includes a large number of Syrian stars and starlets, among them Doreid Lahham, Sulafa Foukharji, Amal Arafa, Nadine Khoury, Khaled al-Qaish, and others, each of whom is capable of marketing any work, as it adds to the work. He continued: 'All these names have their value, history, and presence. There is no such thing as a name that sells, but rather a good work. It is true that all the names participating in the series are shining, and it is enough to stop at the name of Doreid Lahham, who would not have agreed to this work if it were not important. The gathering of all these names was not by chance, but due to the quality of the work, idea, text, and confidence in the director and the project. We suffer from a scarcity of production and a lack of some freedoms on the cultural level, but we do not suffer from a lack of projects and culture. And because the project has creativity, it required the presence of all these stars, who gave up part of their fees or other things.'