Life is a series of realisations that you’re not yet good enough. The trick, Egyptian actor Mohamed Farrag has learnt, is admitting it – and finding a way to get better.
That’s also the lesson of Farrag’s new series Catalog, Netflix’s latest Arabic-language original. In it, he plays Youssef, a man who thinks he’s a good father. He provides for his family – buys his wife, Amina, jewellery and cars, ensures his children, Karima and Mansour, have a good education and a roof over their heads. That should be enough, right?
When Amina dies, it suddenly becomes clear he has been living with strangers. Luckily for Yousef, he has some help. Amina was a parenting influencer and posted tips online. And so, for the first time, he starts watching her work on YouTube – learning from his late wife how to be a loving dad.
“If you have kids, it’s a big problem if you don’t know anything about them. Providing for them isn’t enough, you have to be involved,” Farrag tells The National. “This series is about love – how to love your kids and how to make them love you. And it’s all about becoming involved in their problems, their day to day.”
Farrag, 42, is currently one of Egypt’s most well-regarded actors. But it’s been a slow climb to that perch – with the actor only coming into his own as a leading man over the last several years. His MBC horror series Room 207 earned rave reviews, as did his breakout 2023 film Voy! Voy! Voy! which became Egypt's Oscar submission. In 2024, he reteamed with his Newton’s Cradle co-star Mona Zaki for the hit thriller Flight 404 – which even released theatrically in Europe.
With Catalog debuting on Netflix globally, Farrag has the chance to attain prominence on the world stage. And it’s a moment he’s finally ready for.
“I’m different now in the way I prepare for characters and approach each role. I feel I’ve really grown up,” Farrag says. “I used to hate seeing myself on screen – but I’ve started to like myself in the last several years. Something changed in my mind. With each job I do, I see myself more clearly. It’s hard for me to say it out loud, but I’m happy for myself.”
While it took him two decades to reach the top rung of the Egyptian film and television industry, acting was his passion before he even knew what it was.
“I didn’t know it was called acting. My sisters and I would watch movies and TV shows, and then write down the script to our favourites. We’d start rehearsals, record ourselves doing it, and then play it back to make sure we were good. I have so many memories like that,” says Farrag.
To play a dad in Catalog, Farrag also had to become a surrogate father on set to child actors Retall Abdulaziz, and Ali El Beialy, who play Karima and Mansour. During their first encounter, Ali in particular was intimidated by Farrag, who he knew only from his work.
“I was nervous,” says Ali, 10. “But Fegoo, as we call him, was very friendly and funny, and we became friends in the first 10 or 15 minutes. Then, when we started shooting, we used to see each other every day, so we got closer and closer until we became best friends.”
To forge the connection, Farrag took his own advice – getting involved and meeting his two younger co-stars on their own level. In doing so, he also reconnected with his childhood self – the one who would film videos with his sisters. But instead of home movies on a camcorder, the trio filmed TikToks.
“We were constantly making TikToks,” says Retall, 13. “It was always me and Ali and Fegoo. We even made up our own gibberish language that we were always using on set.”
Ali proceeds to recite a line in said made-up language, which proves as incomprehensible as one might expect. “Can you translate that?” Farrag asks. “No,” says Ali with a laugh.
While he is the younger of the two child stars, Ali is already known across the Arab world as the breakout star of the Ramadan series Leh La 2 from earlier this year. For Retall, meanwhile, Catalog is her first role.
“I learnt a lot from Fegoo. He’s the one who always stayed focused during the difficult scenes – he was always very helpful and committed. He would help me and Ali with everything,” says Retall.
Ali focused most closely on getting to know his character and finding the common ground the two shared. “Mansour loves his mom, and I really love my mom, so I connected with him in this point,” says Ali. “I got closer and closer to Mansour after every scene.”
And by leaning on each other, the three actors together explored what happens when you lose what means most to you.
“Our show has a lot of messages, but I think it’s important to discuss the value of missing someone. To move forward, we need to keep even those we’ve lost involved in our lives,” says Farrag.
Catalog is now streaming on Netflix
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
Barbie
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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