Peoples Daily

Yahanasu Sani is a household name in Kannywood, the growing Kano -based Hausa movie industry. A veteran with 14 years acting experience behind her, she spoke recently to Maryam Garba Hassan in Kano. The subjects of the interview ranged from her aborted marriage to perceptions about the industry, particularly the predominance of divorcees. Excerpts:

By Maryam Garba Hassan

Does the movie industry have such a strong hold on you that you're still in it after several years?
Yes, I've been involved in movies for 14 years now. I was actually introduced by a friend of mine, Aisha, herself an actress. She played a part in the movie Ki yarda da ni a movie which earned her the name “Aisha ki yarda dani.” After her first movie which was a hit she invited me to go into acting but I was reluctant until she introduced me to Dan Azumi Baba Cediya at Iyan-Tama Multi Media Production that was the meeting point for artists in the state. My first movie was Saudatu in which I acted the role of a quarrelsome housewife. She was always quarrelling with the second wife, making it impossible for the family to see peace. The husband was forced to hire a househelp whom he couldn't even pay. He however ended up marrying her because she was different from his two wives. That was the thing that united the two of us against our husband. After that movie I secured a role in another. But before shooting began I travelled. Saima Muhammed who had just come on board was given the role Kilu ta jawo bau.
Saudatu was my first movie and it brought me to limelight. That's why I like the movie. Another film I like is Ruwan Bagaja which we reworked not long ago. It has also been turned into a book for school children. There is also Habibullah. These are movies to which I gave my best, playing the character of a wicked housewife. There was a day I was standing alone somewhere and fans rushed towards. A man came and dispersed the crowd telling them not to stand close to me because I was a wicked and troublesome person. Again I acted in a movie alongside my blood sister Asma'u. In the movie there was a scene where I pushed her to the ground and a woman did the same thing to me in a market-place sometime ago.
How much did you earn the first time?
My first take home was N10,000 and I used it to buy shoes which are a personal weakness. I love buying them.
Acting is becoming a family affair as you and your sister have shown. Why so?
We didn't decide to go into acting together. I started before my elder sister, Asma'u, did. It was much later, having enjoyed the fun that I invited As'ma'u in, and both of us have been acting for years. The secret is interest and talent. 
You act the role of a quarrelsome person and it said that it depicts who you really are. Is it true?
I'm not quarrelsome naturally but I love acting that role. I do it so well that people believe that I am troublesome. The Hausa movie industry needs to keep educating the public that the roles actors play do not say who or what they are. These are fictions all meant to educate, entertain and inform the society. Again people should understand that any good actor can play any role. For instance, a good actor can play the role of a drunk without taking alcohol and when people watch him act they may not differentiate between reality and make-belief. That is why it is called acting.
The first movie I acted in was Saudatu and the role I played is the reason producers who have such characters in their scripts look for artists like me to play such roles.
There was a rumour that you were getting married. How true was that?
It was not a rumour; we were planning to get married but I was jilted by the man I dated for many years. He left me to marry someone else.

You are also a producer; how many movies have you produced?
So far I have produced three movies. The first was Talge, then Rayuwar aure and Gani ga wane. The latter is being promoted in the market but not yet released.
How much does it cost to produce an average movie?
Well, it depends on one's budget and the story line. The third movie I produced, Gani ga wane, cost me over a million Naira. I'm confident that once it is released it will sell.
Kannywood is said to be a comfort zone for divorcees. What is your opinion?
People will always say their minds. That is human beings for you. Many people believe that the Hausa movie industry is responsible for the breakdown of marriages as more young women are getting divorced to go into the industry and make a name. It is a coincidence that there are a number of divorcees in the industry even though there are few cases of adolescent girls who choose acting over marriage. Again a lot of the divorcees in the industry were already divorced long before they started acting. The fact is the Hausa movie industry has offered them an opportunity to make a living and who wouldn't grab such an opportunity so long the talent is there and the woman's guardians or parents have given their approval?
My sister and I are divorcees; we both started acting long after our marriages ended and that does not mean that we don't want or are not getting married again. For  I had a stable relationship but the roles I play in movies also played a role in breaking that courtship I cherished so much and was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with the man.
Can we then say the marriage did not hold because you acted wicked roles?
To some extent I'll say yes. What happened was that we had been in the relationship for some time and we were talking marriage when suddenly he got married to someone else and the reason he gave me was that his friends told him that I was not a marriage material because I wasn't patient. I didn't buy it. It was a flimsy excuse. I think it was never meant to be that is why it ended that way. Yes, you can say that the wicked and impatient characters I played in most if not all the movies I featured in were a major factor in the break-up of that courtship.
How would you describe your true self?
That is a tough one. You should have asked people around not me. Yahanasu is a patient person who minds her business and loves fashion and accepts life the way it comes.

Comments (2)

Subscribe to this comment's feed