What I didn’t do to become successful in Kannywood – Bilkisu Abdullahi

Bilkisu Abdullahi, the tall, lanky Fulani beauty, tells ALIYU ASKIRA in this chitchat about her challenges, sex for role and why she almost quit acting.

You are now one of  the actresses working in Baba Karami’s company; we are aware that there are several allegations against Baba Karami whose real name is Abdullahi Sani Abdullahi – that he hardly features a lady in his film without asking for favours. Did you encounter that and how did you handle it if you did?

Well, before joining Kannywood, I had heard of all sorts of dirty allegations against producers and directors. When I decided to join Kannywood, I didn’t know anybody in the industry; so my brother introduced me to Baba Karami who engaged me and featured me in one of his films Aikin Duhu. That was my first film and since then I have been getting offers from different directors and producers. However, in any society there are bad eggs, but such hasn’t happened to me.

What is the story line of Aikin Duhu?

It was about me meeting one guy in a Keke Napep; he asked for my number and I refused to give him because I thought he had nothing to offer, only for me to discover later that he was extremely rich which I regretted so much.

Before now you only watched Kannywood actors and actresses from a distance; now you are part and parcel of them. How do you feel?

I feel marvelous that today I can sit side by side with Ali Nuhu, Adam A. Zango, Sadiq Sani Sadiq. It’s like a dream to me, but honestly since I am now about seven years in the industry I have become a star, and I find it difficult to move freely in town because of my numerous fans. Some of them want to see me, some want to have my number, while others including my female fans are interested in having me as their friends or to take photographs with.

There are actresses that are not as beautiful as you are, yet you didn’t penetrate the industry very fast; why?

I’ve heard people accusing me that I am arrogant, and so I am really happy with your compliments. The truth is that I will never zip down for any amount; some ladies are in Kannywood only to hustle, they can do anything to secure roles in big films, but I am not like that and I will never do that. For me to sleep with a director or a producer for him to feature me in his film I better quit the industry. This is because my womanhood is my pride and it will remain so until I get married.

Which state do you hail from?

My father hails from Kano, and that means I am an indigene of Kano state. My mother is Fulani from Yola, and I was brought up by a responsible family. By the way, all the things people hear that take place in Kannywood are not true; the industry is so decent that one can be proud to belong to. If you are new and you start getting a series of roles alongside senior Kannywood stakeholders, people would start making all sorts of allegations, but all in all I am happy with what is happening in Kannywood and the sky’s my limit.