There’s no ‘sex for role’ in Kannywood, says budding actress

Budding actress, Aisha Mohammed, has dismissed a long-standing belief that Kannywood is a hub of sex.

“Since I joined Kannywood, and lucky to make friends with the top personalities in the industry in the formative stage of my career, I am yet to come to term with this issue of sexual harassment or sex-for-role issue. It is just rubbish.

“Actually I have not seen the sexual relationships among the industry stars happening in the industry. I do my work smoothly in the industry and the officials have been giving me maximum cooperation. No one has ever harassed me and I have never seen any of them harassing others.

“I think all these stuff being alleged are perpetrated by some unscrupulous people outside the industry who use the name of the industry to perpetrate the illicit acts in the name of Kannywood. But to me, seeing is believing. I did not see all these (allegations).

“I always try to protect my dignity anywhere I find myself in life. I don’t give a room for bad attitude. This is also my call and wish to other actors. We should do everything possible to protect the image of this industry,” she said.

In no distant future, the Hausa film viewers would be entertained by movies featuring the brand new actress, joining the train of screen divas of the Kannywood industry.

Aisha has never appeared on screen until the teasers of her six yet-to-be released movies began to appear early April.

Industry feelers foresee that the moment her movies hit the cinemas, she may likely upstage stars like Nafisa Abdullahi, Rahma Sadau, Hadiza Gabon, among others.

Born in Jos, Plateau State, the purely Fulani girl joined the Kannywood industry just in 2016 to fulfil her silver screen dream and search for greener pastures, following the breakup of her marriage.

Raised in Tafa village of Kaduna State, the 20-year old started her primary and secondary education there before her parents, typical with Fulani tradition, decided to cut short her education and give her hand out in marriage.

“You know Fulani tradition, I was in Senior Secondary, SS2, when my parents cut my education short and married me off. However, the marriage did not last long,” Aisha said during an interview with DAILY NIGERIAN correspondent.

From all indications, her enthusiasm to Hausa movies might be the reason Aisha swiftly hit the screen and even starred in a movie titled Safara  – her maiden film alongside superstar Adam A. Zango.

“I love to become an actress. I like the profession so much that other lucrative businesses do not appeal to me. It is the only thing I see and dedicated myself towards realising that dream,” She said when asked why she had chosen to become an actress.

Narrating her journey to Kannywood Industry, the fair-complexioned lady said she was first introduced to the Industry’s popular singer, Musbahu M. Ahmad who employed her as his secretary at his company, Apple Media for the period of 4 months.

Aisha however believed she was not cut for the secretarial duties but acting.

“I was first introduced to Musbahu M. Ahmad. He employed me as his secretary at his company, Apple Media. After four months, I felt that I was not there for that purpose. I was there to become an actress.

“I opened up to him that I want to be in the mainstream industry. He advised me to learn some basic things and would help me in the pursuit of my career. I accepted his advice and after the four months, he handed me over to a producer called Usman Mu’azu,” he recalled.

According to Ms Muhammad, Mr Mu’azu, a producer who owns a film company called Express Media Arts, was the person that introduced her into mainstream Kannywood.

As soon as she was formerly introduced, she was welcomed with a giant offer to star in a movie with Zango. “I was stunned by the offer. I couldn’t believe it. At first, it was strange to me but after I calmed down, I said to myself that with Allah, everything is possible.

“During the shooting of the film, Safara, I was nervous in the beginning but with some guidance, I did it perfectly and was applauded by the crew. In fact, I was swiftly accepted into the industry and that clearly indicated that my dream of becoming a celebrity was in the offing.”

Her sterling performance in the first movie opened a floodgate of offers. Five more offers came at a go.

She further said that she performed well in all the five movies after her maiden film and expressed optimism that she would attract thousands of fans if the films are released.

Asked about challenges she faced since venturing into film making, she said she did not face any challenge so far. Aisha said her journey so far was smooth and successful because she was accepted by the industry mafia who can make or mar the career of a prospective artist.

As has been with new entrants, Aisha however overcame nervousness and stage fright. “I was scared at first, but as it went on, everything became normal,” she said.

Aisha will feature in Safara, Meera, Madadi, Tsohon Najadu, Kare Jini… and Garba Gurmi.