Hajiya Zulai Bebeji, a burgeoning Nollywood star, in this interview with IBRAHIM HAMISU, she talks about her background, lifestyle and achievements so far.
Background
I am Zulaihat Aliyu Abdullahi Bebeji and I am mostly known and called Hajiya Zulai Bebeji or Attajira.
You have spent many years in the film industry now; what are your major achievements?
Let me first of all give all the praise to the Almighty Allah. So far, I have achieved a lot in the film industry. One thing is certain, our faces enable us to get by easily as we appear in the films and this is an achievement on its own.
Right now my daughter is attending the School of Hygiene at Kano and all her expenses are mostly sourced from the industry. Also, l assisted some people to make in-roads into Kannywood. In fact whenever we meet some people they remind me how I helped them join Kannywood. Also, some film production companies regularly feature me as a mother. Some of the companies are Khairiyya Productions, Ali Rabi’u Ali Dady, and G-Sharif25. So, I am saddled with the responsibility of training prospective film-makers.
What have been your challenges as a film-maker?
There are challenges in Kano; for sure the city is full of religious scholars and people of different backgrounds and ways of life. As a result of this, some people do not see eye to eye with film making and they even look down on film-makers. Sometimes it appears as if we will end up raining abuses on one another and even fight another in such situations. In situations like that I often advise that we are descendents of good people with a pure lineage because we did not fall from the sky. So, we should respect one another. We are not thrown from a different world; we are all servants of Allah.
There are people that believe that Kannywood is a breeding ground for bad eggs, especially for women. What is your take on this?
In all aspects of life there are both the good and bad people and charity, is said, begins at home. So, if you come across a bad egg in the industry that is how he or she was brought up. He/she joins the industry with an innate bad habit. Thus a morally upright person hardly reveals his/her nudity for the simple reason that he/she features films.
Who is your mentor in Kannywood?
To be candid, I don’t have a mentor in the film industry. I joined Kannywood all by myself. Like I said to you earlier, I am an avid reader of Mujallar fim (film magazine) and I bought it at Bata. At that time the cover price was only N7; that was how I started buying and reading it regularly. And when my marriage crashed I decided it would be fine for me to join the film industry.
What message do you have for your well-wishers in Kannywood?
I wish them all the best in life. I am pleased that Allah is strengthening our relationships. For my colleagues, I wish them success in all their activities.
