“We’re about to turn Antonio Banderas into barbecue,” says Ramez Galal.
Or so he would have us believe. After making world headlines last year for taking fashion icon Paris Hilton on a "death-defying" plane trip over Dubai, the Egyptian prankster is back with his notorious Ramadan television show, in which celebrities experience nothing short of a near-death experience. This year, in Ramez Yel'ab Bil Nar (Ramez Plays With Fire), Galal invites celebrities to a fake festival in Casablanca, Morocco, held in a high-rise hotel. Fire breaks out in the rooms and hallways, and the stars are manhandled by Galal – disguised as a fireman – and brought to the building's rooftop before the joke is finally revealed.
So far this year, Galal has duped Lebanese pop star Ragheb Alama, Egyptian actress Ghada Adel and Hollywood star Antonio Banderas, to name but a few.
Next to be pranked, if promos for the show are anything to go by, is Steven Seagal. With the action-movie star’s mastery of aikido, for Galal’s sake we hope he doesn’t lose his cool when the prank is revealed.
The hit show is part of a long tradition of Candid Camera-type programmes, which have been a mainstay of Ramadan TV for 30 years. In the early days, the joke was always on ordinary members of the public.
Such practical-joke reality-TV stunts had been popular for decades the world over, and the Middle East was no exception. The format was short, fun and guaranteed a few gentle laughs at the expense of others. In the early days, the pranks were not too dramatic, traumatic or offensive.
Over the years, though, the jokes have become more elaborate, risqué and, in some cases, genuinely shocking.
One of the first regional hidden-camera hits was El Camera El Khafiyah in the mid-1980s. Hosted by the late Egyptian comedy actor Fouad el-Mohandes, the show was a popular TV staple for a decade.
The jokes were harmless enough – for example, an actor approaches someone in the street, hands them an empty briefcase to look after and then runs off. The reactions vary, and hilarity – and canned laughter – ensue.
Hosting duties were taken over by Egyptian comedian Ibrahim Nasr, who hosted dozens of episodes and regularly portrayed a female character called Zakeya Zakaria.
Then the late actor and singer Hussein Al Imam came on board. The Egyptian hosted several shows and entertainment programmes, including Hassan Ala Al Hawa, Hussein Ala Al Hawa, Fasel W Nwasel, Eh En Nizam and Kalaam Hussein.
Al Imam's programmes began to shift away from showcasing public Candid Camera moments and instead began to target celebrities specifically – they were invited to appear on a staged talk show, then embarrassed on air. This heralded a marked shift towards pranking celebrities instead of members of the public.
International TV shows such as The Jamie Kennedy Experience and Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd have both been credited as inspiration for Galal's programmes.
Now, mainly thanks to Galal’s shows, it increasingly seems as though laughs are only guaranteed if they are at the expense of A-listers subjected to horrific experiences.
Perhaps nothing is as shocking – or in as poor taste – as Egyptian prank show Mini Daesh, in which celebrities are led to believe they are being kidnapped by terrorists.
In one of the earlier episodes of the show, which is broadcast on Al Nahar TV, Egyptian actress Heba Magdi became a sobbing, nervous wreck when she was told she would have to wear a suicide vest.
The show has made global headlines, coming under fire for the cruelty of its jokes and the bad taste of its humour.
Another celebrity-targeted prank show screening this Ramadan is Hani Fil Adghal (Hani in the Jungle), which is hosted by Egyptian actor Hani Ramzi.
Since last week on Al Hayat TV, the show has duped Egyptian stars including Fifi Abdou, Ilham Shahin and DinaEl Sherbini, who thought they were on a fun, relaxing African safari until “a lion decided to attack”.
Those pining for the old days of good-natured laughs should not totally despair. MTV Lebanon has a programme called Eish W Kul Gheirha (Live and Get Pranked Again), which is set in the streets of Beirut and features unsuspecting citizens subjected to harmless practical jokes.
Another, Oo'a Yejeelak Edward (Watch Our for Edward) – broadcast on ONtv – is presented by Egyptian actor and comedian Edward, who disguises himself as a villager, an old man and a woman to prank unsuspecting people on the street.
Perhaps best of all, they are the rarest of rarities in the Arabic television landscape – programmes starring normal people with no celebrities in sight.
artslife@thenational.ae
