By Aliyu Askira
Fati Isa Asirka, who is a half Cameroonian and half Nigerian, is a fast-rising Kannywood actress who has been in the industry for the past 3 years.
So far, although she has been given a supporting role in most of the films she appeared, however, she has featured in films like Hindu, Indon Kauye, Hassana da Hussaina, and Asirka, which she played the lead role, among several other films that were either released or yet to be released.
After her Secondary School education at Federal Government Girls College, Bakori and Government Girls Secondary School, Monguno, Fati proceeded to Ramat Polytechnic before delving into a business of supplying to the banks, film industry members, other customers and civil servants, shoes, bags, jewelries and the rest
According to her, coming into Kannywood was like a miracle. Though, even before the Boko Haram crises, in Maiduguri, when she was formerly based, she used to sell custome and other make-up accessories to Kannywood members at that time, she never dreamt of being an actress, until one day, when her friend who was already engaged to appear in a film was later stopped from doing so by her fiancé and the film has to continue.
As such, the producer of the film used Fati’s picture on the film’s poster because she was her friend’s lookalike. “That was how I ended up in Kannywood. However, when I wanted to make it a a full time career, I approached one Aminu Bala and Sani Sule Katsina, the Executive Chairman of Right Time Media. The duo assisted me and, before you know it, I delved into acting as a full time business,” Fati recalled.
Hindu, according to her, was the film that gave her tough time, saying: “We had to spend about 3 weeks in one village in Minna, Niger State in the film, which I featured as one of Adam Zango’s three wives.”
Continuing, Fati noted that the tough time could possibly because the directors and producers, including the sponsors of the film had exactly what they wanted by insisting to produce a successful and matured film.
Recalling her saddest moment, Fati said, was when she was called a prostitute by a Keke Napep riders on a street in Kano.
“I recall when me and my friends were about to cross Zoo Road, on our way to Tradessy’s Studio to take pictures, one Keke Napep rider nearly hit us and when we complained to him, he looked at us and said, ‘look at these Ashawos – “Karuwai”,’ adding further, he said ‘are you not Hausa film actresses, as far as I am concerned you people are cheap prostitutes.’ Since then, when ever I remember the incident, it used to pain me because, to me, acting is a decent profession like being a lawyer, journalist, banker, or business man,” Fati noted.
Also, against the percieved notion that the entire Hausa film industry is full of wild opportunists, wayward people and bad eggs, especially those that pervert the societal ethos, this 26-year-old actress cum business woman is not happy with the way the society is perceiving Hausa female actresses and actors reacted thus:
“If a Lady wants to join Kannywood and she proves to be desperate, people will definitely take advantage of her, or if she insists that she must play a lead role in her first films, this will also go with a price. So the simple fact lies in the way one present himself or herself before people or society that he will be judged as such.
“Our society should understand that what they see and what they think about us are just their imagination because, ours is to act out a script, collect a pay and go home. In most cases what we try to portray to the society is what is actually happening within our environment, it is just like the mirror.
“If you look at it, you will definitely see yourself.
There was this story of a monkey that goes to the stream to drink a water, when he saw his picture down inside the water, he laughed and said people are saying he is ugly but the picture he is seeing in the water is more uglier than him, not knowing that it was his own picture.
“This, the society should know, actors and actresses only entertain people by exposing what some people are hiding in the society. As such, people should stop referring to them as prostitutes,” she fumed.
Fati, though she is beautiful by all standard, to the extent people tell her to go to some of the communication out fits like Glo, MTN, Zain & other Multi-National organizations to solicit for ambassadorship of their companies, she said she was happy being a business Lady, an actress and also networker for some directors and producers. “This is what I intend to do until I settle down as a house wife.
Though even if I settle down I will continue with my business,” she added.
On whether she will want to be Zango’s third wife in real life, she laughed and told our correspondent that he should spare her from trouble though she noted that the Ultimate ambition of any grown up lady is to get a decent man to marry.
She only appeared as Zango’s third wife based on the script of the film, right now she is into serious relationship and she is praying hard to settle down very soon.