Egyptian icon Hind Rostom: The Marilyn Monroe of the East
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Loading... - Louis Robert
- 19 Sep 2022
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Often referred to as the Marilyn Monroe of the East, the late Arab icon Hind Rostom left her mark on the region’s film industry, having starred in more than 70 movies.
Born Nariman Hussein Murad in Alexandria, Egypt, on Nov. 12, 1929, her father was Turkish and her mother Egyptian. After her parents’ divorce, a young Rostom lived an unsettled life, following her policeman father from city to city until she moved as a teenager to Cairo in 1946.
She first lit up the silver screen as a non-speaking extra in 1949 and went on to turn heads with her first major role in Egyptian film director Hassan Al-Imam’s 1955 “Banat El-Lail” (“Women of the Night”).
She is, perhaps, most famous for her turn as a lemonade vendor in Youssef Chahine’s tense 1958 drama “Cairo Station,” with her complex portrayal of a woman on the fringes of society earning her kudos from the film industry, as well as fans for generations to come.
With her blonde locks and striking features, she soon became a fashion icon with women around the Arab world flocking to copy her latest look — she was even dubbed Egypt’s Brigitte Bardot, and The First Lady of Egyptian Cinema — however, it was her frequent portrayal of strong female characters that earned Rostom an everlasting spotlight.
She is known for her portrayal of outspoken characters alongside legendary actors such as Farid Shawqi and Omar Sharif, defying stereotypical gender norms of the time and inadvertently becoming a feminist symbol for many.
In an interview with veteran broadcast journalist Mahmoud Saad in 2010, Rostom said that one of the favorite movies of her career was “Emraa Ala El-Hamesh” (“A Woman on the Outside”).
The 1963 film tells the story of a famous actress who after murdering her husband was sentenced to life imprisonment and had to leave her son to be raised by a maid. The maid worked as a dancer and gave the son to a wealthy family. Years later, the mother leaves prison and works as a maid for the family to stay close to her son. Read More...
