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DUBAI: Egyptian actor Asser Yassin had heard the tales. For a lot of the final decade, Wilayat Sinai — a radical terrorist group aligned with Daesh — had turned Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula into hell on earth for a lot of, as they staged assault after assault, leaving scores lifeless because the group tried to reshape the nation of their picture. The folks that stood of their means, and finally overcame the risk, had been the troopers of the Egyptian Military’s Battalion 101.  

Yassin had heard the tales, however how may he have recognized how deep their sacrifices went? Their struggles and triumphs remained relegated to information briefs and statistics. Nobody had actually explored what actually occurred on the market. 

“Our nation doesn’t notice the sacrifice given on this sector — how a lot of their very own blood they spilled to guard their nation. I really feel it’s my obligation to be part of telling these tales, so the world is aware of precisely what occurred,” Yassin tells Arab Information. 

With “Battalion 101,” airing on MBC Shahid all through Ramadan, that story will lastly be advised. For Yassin, who stars as a army intelligence officer tasked with undermining Wilayat Sinai — and procuring the information wanted to do it, stepping into character first required him to study the true tales of what occurred, the human tales, in order that he may give this collection his all. 

“The factor that has touched me probably the most whereas making this present is that, within the intelligence world, you’ll by no means hear these tales, as a result of individuals can’t inform them with out risking the lives of others. You can’t say how an intelligence officer died defending his nation. His youngsters might know that he’s a hero, however they’ll’t put it out to the world as a result of their father died on a secret mission,” says Yassin. 

“I met a few of the households, they usually know the lads their fathers had been. They know he was their champion. However they’ll’t inform the media. However I can put these fathers into my character. I can’t say their names, I can’t say the small print, however I can put their spirits into this, in appreciation for the individuals who secretly died combating these evils,” Yassin continues.  

Whereas Yassin is an completed motion star, his character within the collection, for probably the most half, will not be on a battlefield dodging bullets, or swinging from helicopters. To higher perceive the intelligence world, Yassin met with officers to study concerning the particulars of issues comparable to interrogation, discovering that lots of the tropes which might be current in most movies and tv are pure fiction. 

“It’s all within the particulars. There’s no followers or distractions within the room, there’s no two-way mirror. The setting will not be practically as dramatic. Normally, the officer, for instance, stays sitting behind a desk in a room that’s as primary as may be, with solely sure shades of grey as a result of it’s psychologically necessary,” says Yassin. 

After diving headfirst into the small print, the problem for Yassin was to dramatize this world. When there was a lot dedication to telling the story because it truly occurred, and following the occasions to the letter with the intention to correctly honor the folks that went via these conditions, it was necessary to needless to say the present was being made for an viewers seeking to be entertained, to not be studied as a part of a historical past course. 

“We had a accountability to provide a correct picture of what we had been portraying, after all. There are such a lot of info for us to ship, however we couldn’t simply be informative, we needed to be participating, we needed to additionally make it an Egyptian drama. That may be an enormous problem,” says Yassin.  

Yassin labored intently with the writers and supervisors, together with individuals from the army who had been on set as consultants, with the intention to make it possible for the viewers was all the time at the beginning of their minds. 

“We’d ask ourselves questions like, ‘Can we not speak about that half? Can we make this terminology easier?’ It may get very heavy if we didn’t. Folks don’t care about the way you construct the rocket, they care about whether or not the rocket goes to fly, and the place it’s flying to. Once you concentrate on that, then you may have one thing appropriate for individuals to look at,” he says. 

Yassin additionally did that by specializing in his character Khaled, who, as a composite of the numerous intelligence officers he realized about, was additionally ripe for drama.  

“Khaled is a man who manipulates every part with the utmost ability. He provides you the sense that he’s all the time awake, he’s all the time round, and he may even be in two locations without delay,” says Yassin. 

“What made him work as a personality although, will not be the excessive degree of ability he possesses. Sure, he’s all the time doing his job proper — he by no means makes a mistake. However that doesn’t imply that issues will all the time work out. Typically you are able to do every part proper and issues nonetheless gained’t go the way in which they’re deliberate, and his frustration in that hole was fascinating to discover,” Yassin continues. 

Starring reverse Yassin is Amr Youssef, who grew to become one in every of Egypt’s largest stars after his turns in initiatives comparable to “Sons of Rizk,” 2015’s “The Prince,” and the extremely regarded 2016 Ramadan hit “Grand Lodge.” 

“Amr and I’ve recognized one another a very long time, however we by no means labored collectively. It has actually been enjoyable, as we’ve a pleasant chemistry and we’re actually changing into higher buddies as we work via this problem collectively. I can see numerous collaborations occurring sooner or later, as, regardless that we’re on related ranges, we’re fully differing kinds, which creates an fascinating distinction,” says Yassin. 

Everybody concerned was eager about telling the story proper, which concerned breaking with the same old construction of Ramadan collection — they averted stretching it out to the usual 30 episodes, as an alternative preserving it to twenty, so the story could possibly be precisely what it wanted to be, and no extra. 

“It’s significantly better for everybody concerned. The standard is best, and you may focus extra on manufacturing, quite than speeding issues out. It’s nonetheless tight, however in comparison with the torture of hitting 30 episodes that may air night time after night time, the ache is much more livable,” says Yassin. 

Primarily, although, as Yassin speaks to us from set within the remaining days of filming, he’s most centered on how the true story resonates with audiences now that they’ll lastly study the reality. 

“I hope that individuals can respect the individuals who died, and the people who find themselves nonetheless on the market risking their lives. That’s what touches me most about all of this. I’m occupied with the children of these fathers who’re gone now, and I hope individuals watching at dwelling will take into consideration them too, and the way a lot they gave in order that they may watch a collection like this comfortably of their houses all these years later.”