Mona’s superstar status rose to new heights over the last year, some of it for unexpected reasons. She enjoyed her customary success with the TV series NEWTON’S CRADLE during the Ramadan season 2021, and then earned even bigger buzz with her role in the Arab-language adaptation for Netflix of the film PERFECT STRANGERS in which co-stars alongside Nadine Labaki. It topped the most-watched list in Egypt, Lebanon and other Arab countries. But a scene in which Mona’s character removes her underwear from under her dress, together with the presence of a closeted gay character, was all too much for more conservative elements in Egyptian society – even though the Egyptian cinema has long addressed issues such as adultery and sexual desire, and the Cairo International Film Festival even gave an award to the original, raunchier Italian version after it came out in 2016!