'Mafia' amasses 140M views on YouTube

CAIRO – 29 July 2019: Egyptian star Mohamed Ramadan's "Mafia" amassed 140 million views on YouTube 7 months after its release.
"Thank god 140 million views in 7 months," Ramadan stated on his official Facebook account.
Ramadan launched on July 18 on his official YouTube channel a video of his latest song, "Ensay", which is a duet performed with Moroccan star Saad Lamjarred.

Director Hossam al-Husseini stated that working with Ramadan and Lamjarred is a totally different experience, as each of them has his presence, tools and audience, adding that the “video clip had to be unique in order to be attractive to the audience.”

He pointed out that the video was filmed in the streets of Paris, France and in one of the French palaces to add an archaeological element to the dazzling movements of the stars to rhythm of the song.

The song is a blend of rap and oriental music. Husseini said in a press statement that the video has become the No. 1 trend in Egypt, the Arab region and most of the countries of Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.

The director also stated that the video clip mounted the third place in the list of the most watched videos on YouTube worldwide during the first 24 hours, capturing 24 Million views in the first three days to remain the leading Arab most watched video.

Ramadan started his career with small roles in TV series like “The Cindrella" until he had his big chance in YousryNasrallah's “EhkyYaSharazad” (Tell me, Shahrazad).

He then became the star of movies produced by famous Egyptian producer Ahmed el-Sobky, which made him one of the most famous actors in the Middle East.

Mohamed Ramadan is perhaps the only Egyptian actor to have been praised by internationally acclaimed late actor Omar Sharif, who stated that he had chosen the young actor to perpetuate his acting career.

Ramadan previously celebrated as four of his songs were among the top Egyptian music videos for 2018 in terms of viewership on YouTube.

“Mafia” has taken all social media platforms by storm, and was the most searched on Google, making it the trend of the first days of 2019.

The clip achieved millions of views a few hours after its launch on Ramadan’s official YouTube channel. Ramadan received appraisal from his fans on the clip, which he presented in a distinctive way.

Famed international star Jean-Claude Van Damme previously praised Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan in a video published by Ramadan on his official Instagram account, after the two actors collaborated together in an advertisement.

"Hey, Mohamed Ramadan, how are you? It was great working with you. I appreciate your kindness. You're a great actor, good face, good body and one day maybe we will work together, we'll see, inshallah," the famed actor and kickboxing star said in the video.

Ramadan partcipated in the last Ramadan marathon with his latest series "Zelzal" alongside Hala Shiha, Hanady Mehana, Maged el Masry Ahmed Seyam, Nesrine Amin, Youssef Osman, among others.

In "Zelzal", Ramadan performs the role of both the father and son, an experience he previously succeeded in, in the series “Nesr El Saeed” which gained great success in Ramadan 2018.

The events of the series take place in 1992 when a devastating earthquake struck Egypt. A man buys a house in instalments and the last instalment is due; the owner of the house demands that the house be registered in his name and his ownership is renounced.

The seller decides to wait and prolongs the process until the devastating earthquake strikes. The buyer dies and the house collapses post the destructive force of the earthquake.

The seller then refuses to hand over the piece of land on which the house was built to the heirs of the deceased, creating a clash between him and the son of the deceased.

Despite the fact that there is a love story between the daughter of the seller and the son of the deceased, the girl's father stands between them.

The series is directed by Yasser Samy and written by Abdul Rahim Kamal. “Zelzal” is the production of Synergy.