Adel Mohamed Emam Mohamed Bakhriny, known artistically as El-Zaim, (born May 17, 1940) is an Egyptian film, television and stage actor. He is considered one of the most famous and popular actors in Egypt and the Arab world. He is famous for playing comedic roles that blend political, romantic and social issues films. At the beginning of his career, he played the lead role in more serious works that combined comedy with romance, such as My Wife is the General Manager (1966), My Wife's Dignity (1967) and My Wife's Demon (1968). Adel Emam began his artistic career in the early sixties, and has so far presented 126 films, 16 series, 11 plays and a radio series with the singer Abdel Halim Hafez entitled Please Don't Misunderstand Me Quickly (1973). Emam obtained a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Cairo University. Adel Emam had begun his artistic career on the university stage, from which he launched into cinema. Entering the world of cinema, Imam starred in many of the highest-grossing films in the history of Egyptian cinema, as his films in the eighties and nineties were the highest-grossing films in cinema at the time, making him superior to other actors. His contributions to the film and theater industries were through addressing social and political issues in the Arab world; which earned him wide fame all over the world and made him one of the most influential Arab public figures in the eighties and nineties. Some of his cinematic and television works are bold and cause a stir and controversy for discussing important social, political and religious issues such as the Arab crises with Israel and Denmark. He became a cultural icon in the history of modern Egypt, as his films gained a large following, which inspired the launch of many of his scenes as memes on the Internet and as drawings on notebooks, and his sentences became part of popular culture in the region. However, Adel Imam is considered a controversial actor, as he gained fame and a fan base a
