Dubai: Every year, controversy resurfaces and discussion spurs over Ramadan TV shows but one host clearly wears the crown for being the king of controversy — Ramez.
The Egyptian actor and singer, hosts a prank show named after him, now in its seventh year.
The show grabbed international headlines two years ago when it featured American businesswoman and media personality Paris Hilton experiencing a death-defying flight over Dubai.
Last year, Ramez took it a step further when hosted celebrities and faked a fire at a high-rise hotel in Morocco.
Ramez — disguised as a fireman — rushed his guests to the building’s rooftop before the joke was exposed.
Among his victims were Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas and Steven Seagal, and Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama.
This year Ramez is back on MBC with his seventh edition called “Ramez Taht Al Ard” (Ramez Underground).
Celebrities are invited to go on a safari trip in an Abu Dhabi desert where the driver essentially loses control of the car and the 4x4 sinks into the quicksand.
The driver suffocates and pretends dies and chaos ensues as they struggle to avoid sinking.
A huge reptile crawls towards the guests and eventually Ramez comes out of the lifelike reptile costume.
The show, which despite the subject of widespread criticism, nonetheless has a huge following as Arab viewers loyally tune in to watch everyday at 9pm UAE time on MBC Masr and at 9:30pm on MBC.
Many viewers reject criticisms and say the show is harmless and people should not take it too seriously.
@weam_selena_fan wrote on Twitter: Ramadan is more enjoyable with my favourite “prank show” called “Ramez Under Ground.” @ramezgalal your show always completes my Ramadan.
Other viewers struggle to find the humour in the show — especially when Ramez pokes fun at some of his guests’ weight.
@rokayax wrote: Ramez Galal should really realise that body shaming is not funny at all.
@Sabeenay_ wrote: TVs make million $ from scaring people thinking it is amusing. It is forbidden in Islam to scare people even while joking.
Two weeks ago, an Egyptian cleric issued a fatwa saying that prank shows are unlawful under Sharia.
Media reports quoted a member of the Al Azhar University’s Alumni Union, Shaikh Sayyed Salman, saying “Islamic law does not permit people to do anything that would scare another person.”
In a trailer for his show, he admits to “torturing his friends and fellow actors because he loves them.”
However, recently it has been exposed that the guests are actually in on the pranks and their reactions are staged.
Some celebrities have confirmed the rumours. Recently, the show featured Bollywood mega actor Shah Rukh Khan. Later, Khan’s manager, Pooja Dadlani, revealed that it was staged.
“Yes, it was staged and Shah Rukh Khan was aware and acting as if he was angry,” she said.
— Aya is an intern at Gulf News
