Halima Atete is one of the popular Kannywood actresses and producers nominated by Stakeholders in Hausa Film Industry in collaboration with Zamfara state Emirate Council as the Queen of Kannywood, Sarauniyar Kannywood. In this interview with ALIYU ASKIRA in Kano, Atete talks about her career, money and challenges of the profession
The last time I interviewed you was five years ago at Green Park hotel where you went to participate in Ahmad Bifa’s film ‘ALMOORU’. That interview ended very shallow because you were a novice. Now you are one of the best actresses in Kannywood. Tell us how it all happened.
Thanks for reminding me of that interview. Also, I remember during the interview Hadiza Aliyu Gabon had to intervene to explain some points. But honestly, Halima Atete of today is not only a successful producer who produced films like ‘Daga Murna’ and several others featuring top-class actors like Ali Nuhu, I have virtually dominated the industry so to speak. To be frank, those I used to admire before I joined Kannywood today, are now rubbing shoulders with me. Some of them after we finish shooting a film, would come to me and say ‘Halima you are a wonderful actress.’ To me, this is not a mean achievement.
Tell us your initial challenges
When I joined the industry newly, I was always very jittery before the camera, or when I was asked to play alongside top-class actors or actresses. But I quickly overcome that. However, my colleagues in the industry are very cooperative, they assisted me to grow easily. Today, I acted as a Truck driver in ‘Kallabi’, where I was even attacked by armed robbers. I featured as an Army Commander, as Matamaza. In this film which Late Ibro, Rabilu Musa was my father, and he was lazy. I always stand for him whenever people challenge him for a fight or anything of that nature. I played that role as his strong and stubborn male son. In fact, after the film, I noticed that men are luckier than us because I can wear my jeans go out and play, go out and dance with friends and do other things that ordinarily a lady cannot do. So I enjoy acting like a man. Unfortunately, my father in the film Rabilu Musa later died in real life. May God give him paradise.
So today how rich is Halima Atete?
Well, to start with, I cannot count the number of films I featured. I have too many films to my credit. Most importantly, stakeholders of Kannywood from all the Northern states met and nominated me as Queen of Kannywood, later, Zamfara Emirate Council organized a beautiful turbaning ceremony for me. I built my own house, I have cars, my bank account is not doing badly, I have admirers all over the country. God has given me good health, I am Muslim, I am very pretty and sexy, I was opportune to perform Hajj to the Holy Land. So you can see that I have nothing to say than to pray to God to assist me finish my career successfully.
With all these that you have achieved within your five-year period in the industry, how do you cope with enemies?
Well, all of us have enemies but I always make sure I pray hard and leave everything in the hands of God. You know, even if you have nothing in life, you will still have enemies. But I always feel sad when I hear what people do say about us. I want people to know that most of what we do in films are not real, we are only creating awareness. Like in Matamaza, I featured like a man with mustache and male dresses. Ordinarily, I can’t do that in real lif. We are as decent as any other person in life. We are as soft as cotton and as pure as holy water. As such, people should feel free and approach us for marriage and they will never regret whenever they do that.
Your role in ‘Dakin Amarya’ sold you out to a lot of fans. How did you do it, are you really that jealous?
Though I am the jealous type, what I did in ‘Dakin Amarya when my husband Ali Nuhu took a second wife Aisha Aliyu Tsamiya and I almost set our house on fire, was just a film but that film has endeared me to many people, especially women folk because I played the role perfectly well. The properties including Television Plasma that you saw me destroying in film were real, they were new before I destroyed them and the injury I sustained on my hand was real.
I am expecting you to say something about marriage or relationship. You are pretty, successful, rich at least by your own level and have admirers all over the country, yet you did not mention anything about marriage.
You see, I like children. I want to settle down, have children, take care of them and my husband, establish businesses here and there and later enroll in Islamiyya school and dedicate my life to God. However, about relationship, I have many admirers but like a football, I am taking my time to choose the best eleven and later the best scorer, that will win my heart and marry me. Right now, I don’t have a name to mention and even marriage honestly I don’t have a fixed date in mind. Some men do come to us because they think that we are cheap but if they discover that it is not so, they will run away.
But in the film KONAGARI you acted perfectly as a prostitute, in fact, even as magajiya, how did you find that role as a decent lady by nature?
Well, that was long time ago and I am happy you said I played the role very well. In fact, I am thinking of setting up an NGO to assist widows and divorcees, I can even extend it to those in IDP camps in the North-east. Remember I am from Maiduguri, a bonafide daughter of Borno state. Also, I know you will not conclude this interview without asking me why whenever I feature in a film with Ali Nuhu as wife the film is always successful. (Laughter) Before then let me put it on record that Ali Nuhu is one person that has assisted hundreds of actors and actresses to succeed in life that is why he too is always successful and God is always kind to him. There is nothing special between us apart from respect, understanding, and the fact that we both came from the same place, above all, Ali’s face sales film like hot cake.
On lighter mood, why do you always prefer to appear in fitted outfits?
I hope it is not a sin for a woman to prove to the world that she is beautiful? Whether I am exposing my body or not, you know that I have the qualities that you are talking about, but I am mindful of what I am doing. On a serious note, wearing a trouser or tight fittings in a film is the responsibility of the director or producer who chooses custome for us. I am a Muslim from a decent family and I tried to leave within the limit of my religion.
