Across more than thirty films, Bencheikh embodied Boubagra, a caricature of a naive peasant full of good sense and wisdom in the face of socioeconomic stagnation.
Encouraged by Bachtarzi, El Hassani wrote his first play, Hassan's Dreams, a satire mocking European colonialism in Africa.
[citation needed] Released at the end of World War II, Bencheikh moved to the Casbah of Algiers, where he worked as a barber, as well as in theater.
He created the character of Na'anaa in the play El-houria which became, in 1950, the plot then tigoule ou ti ghoul pas.
In 1968, he joined the Algerian National Theatre, then abandoned his favourite character Na'anaa for the more popular Boubagra.