BEIRUT: Popular Egyptian actor Adel Imam denied reports over the weekend that he was banned from entering the Lebanese town of Dhour Choueir last week because of his political stance during the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon.

Media reports surfaced Thursday that Imam, along with his film crew, were banned from shooting a scene from the television series “Fariq Nagy Attalla” (Nagy Attalla’s team) in the town because he had ridiculed what Hezbollah called a victory against Israel.

In an article published Thursday, As Safir newspaper reported that Dhour Choueir's residents were opposed to Imam shooting the movie in the town, and had said that the Egyptian actor did not respect the feelings of the Lebanese or the supporters of the resistance when Israel was violating Lebanon's sovereignty.

"That did not happen, we never went to Dhour Choueir but we went to various mountain areas ... and everything was facilitated to us and everything we wanted was immediately available," Imam told mbc.net over the weekend.

Tareq Ghattas, executive manager at 6 Hats Entertainment which produces the series, said that the production team had decided to change locations before the Dhour Choueir’s municipality informed them they were not welcome.

"We decided not to shoot there before the municipality’s decision." Ghattas told Al-Akhbar in an article published Thursday, adding that the location proved would have cost the company too much to set up.

During an interview in 2006, Imam criticized Hezbollah for using “primitive” weapons against Israel, and said that the Jewish state was a great power that knows how to achieve its goals.

"Lebanese people love the Egyptian art and Egyptian artists very much and we have witnessed all the love and warm welcome and I am proud and happy of that," Imam told the entertainment website.

Imam also said he was not ashamed of the position he had taken during the war, but added that he was opposed to Israeli aggression against Lebanon.