22 years have passed since the death of the great artist Aqila Ratib, who left our world in February 1999 after a life full of art and creativity.
Aqila Ratib was born on March 23, 1916 to an aristocratic family, her real name is Kamel Mohamed Kamel.
Her father dreamed of enrolling his daughter in the diplomatic corps when she grew up, but she spoiled the dream, and she declared her desire to become a professional art, so she received a “hot lick”, which increased her insistence on achieving her dream.
Her artistic talents appeared at an early age, and Zaki Okasha, the owner of Okasha band, offered her to work in his band when she was 14 years old, but her father strongly refused and beat her, so she moved to her aunt’s house and turned professional, and her father interrupted her, and she chose the name Aqila Ratib.
Unbeknownst to her brother, her aunt helped her take her first steps in the world of acting, after theatrical artist Zaki Okasha assured her that her niece was a talented girl, and prepared for her an operetta called “Huda”.
The operetta achieved an extraordinary success, as the girl, who was only 14 years old at the time, dazzled all those who attended the operetta with her voice, acting and ability to perform gracefully performance movements.
Despite all her attempts not to know her father about her professionalism in acting, which prompted her to change her name to “Aqila Ratib”, for fear of him, the success that she achieved exposed her, and her father learned the secret, and it was a shock that paralyzed him and it is said that her father prayed for her and died while he was not satisfied. about her.
She founded her own band with her husband, the artist Hamed Morsi, a singer and actor who co-starred in a number of plays and films, and many called him “Bulbul Egypt”.
She presented her first movie starring when she was only 20 years old, through the movie “The Black Hand”, which was shown in 1936, in which the artist Hamed Morsi participated in the championship.
She presented a number of plays, most notably: “The Singer of Emotions, Your Dream, Sheikh Allam, The Wife is the Last to Learn, and the Association of All and Thank You.”
She presented nearly 60 films, most notably: “Al-Madaq Alley, Cairo 30, The Secret of Dr. Ibrahim, Some Go to the Authorized Twice, and How to Steal a Millionaire”.
Aqila Ratib was one of the most successful actresses who performed the role of the mother and continued to work until she participated in her last film, which is the unfortunate film in 1987. Before the end of her scenes in the film, she was blinded and lost sight, but she insisted on completing her scenes, and then moved away from art until her death on February 22, 1992.
In one of the press interviews with her in September 1987, she said that she represented more than half of the series and was unable to see, and the doctor ordered her to stay away from light and complete comfort, and since then she has moved away from art and retired.
In 1992, on July 17, Al-Ahram newspaper published a letter receiving a letter from one of Aqila Ratib’s fans, who donated one of his eyes to see again, in gratitude and appreciation for what she had done. She died on February 22, 1992.