Saturday, 2 June 2012

[Lost] Stars of the 1970s: Sahar Hamdy

Known for her vulgarity/cheekiness (depending on your point of view), Sahar is one of those stars who's not well-known outside Egypt. I only heard of her because I saw Candi Bell performing a tribute to her last month. According to this rather moving (though hideously formatted) piece by Yasmin on Serpentine, part of Sahar's obscurity may be down to her battles with alcohol throughout her career -- which allegedly prompted her to accept a massive bribe from a wealthy religious extremist to retire in the 1980s.

Apart from her raunchy stage persona, Sahar's other claim to fame is that she popularised the lip-synching that has become one of Dina's trademarks.

Here's a tabla solo; it's the only clip I could find on YouTube that I'm certain is Sahar dancing:

And this may well be a convincing look-alike if it isn't Sahar, but who cares if it's not? This tiger-print catsuit really deserves a post in its own right!:


  1. The second clip is Sahar Hamdi with Egyptian comedian Saeed Salah. Its from a 1992 film.

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