6 Egyptians that should play Umm Kalthoum instead of Sofia Essaïdi

By now, you most probably heard of the new Umm Kolthoum biopic that is currently in the works. The biopic, which is titled "The Voice," is directed by Guila Braoudé and stars French-Moroccan singer Sofia Essaïdi.

Why is such an iconic role of one of Egypt's most beloved and celebrated artists, to this day, going to a non-Egyptian when the country has no shortage of talented performers that are a perfect fit for this role.

With a powerful voice that captured the hearts of millions in Egypt and the Middle East, Amal Maher grew up influenced by Umm Kalthoum and is known to pay tribute to the late artist in all of her concerts.

The 25-year-old singer, actress and dancer took the Arab world by storm when she won Star Academy Arab World's 8th season, making her the second Egyptian to win the title after Mohammed Ateia. Due to the pipes on this woman and her amazing vocal skills, Mahgoub went to star as Elsa in the Arabic version of Disney's film Frozen. Also, the resemblance of Mahgoub to a young Umm Kalthoum is jaw dropping.

Gaining national and international attention, the 25 year old star got her big break when she starred in Youssef Chahine's Iskenderia... New York. Yosra El Lozy also won multiple awards from regional and international film festivals such as the Best Actress award from the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Born and raised in Milan with Egyptian parents, Reham Haggag spent most of her years in Italy. However, soon after she came back to her homeland, Haggag took the entertainment industry by surprise and has worked on manyy acclaimed films and TV series such as "Segn El Nesa2." Furthermore, the star is no stranger to working on major biopic films. In fact, she played the famous Egyptian belly dancer Samia Gamal in the biopic “Karioka.”

Another candidate for the role should be Reham Abdul Ghafour. Her artistic talents stemmed from the fact that she's the daughter of one of Egypt's most respect actors, Ashraf Abdel Ghafour. The star has multiple TV series and films under her belt and was one of the very few people that was handpicked to star in Shakespeare's Hamlet in Egyptian theater.

Both an actress and a singer, Menna Fadali got her big break on television in 2002 with Majdi Abu Emera, director of "Ayna Kalby" television series. The star then went on to capture the hearts of Egyptians in the country with her hit song, "Masria Ana."