Kannywood actress, Umma Shehu has been in the industry for six years. The beautiful Umma Shehu who is good at the interpretation of her roles has so far won 2 laurels, in 2015 she won the City People Magazine best upcoming actress and 3years ago, she again won the best supporting actress of the same magazine. She receives both awards in Lagos from the publishers and well-wishers of the Magazine.
Umma Shehu who spoke with Neptune Prime’s correspondent, Saleh Inuwa, recently in Kaduna said that before she joined Kannywood, she has never watched a Hausa film, that mostly the films she watched are Indian films because she loves their costume, their songs and the way they display love in their films. As faith may have it, one day, Tijjani Asase an A-grade actor and Kannywood stakeholder visited her in their Tudun Wada house in Kaduna later she followed him to where they are shooting a film but on reaching there, they discovered that Fati Yola who is to feature in the film called Hauwan Dare was yet to come to location instead of postponing the shooting of the film, Umma Shehu insisted she can fit into the role reserved for Fati Yola perfectly and that was how she started acting and became an award-winning actress within a year, whose face is also a Household name within the Hausa Community because they watch films that she featured in without complaining of her acting skills though some people perceive her as arrogant and pompous.
Excerpts of the Interview
Neptune Prime: Tell us who you are and how you started acting?
Umma: Well, my name is Umma Shehu a Fulani by tribe. I am from Kaduna State, as a woman, I will not tell you my age but I was married before, to be precise I got married in 2003 after finishing my Primary and Secondary school education, after 5 years of marriage I broke up but I have a daughter that is now 16years old. I lost my father 8 years ago but my mother is still alive. About how I joined Kannywood, well one day, one Tijjani Asase visited me in our Kaduna home, he told me they were in Kaduna to shoot a film Hauwan Dare, later, I saw him off up to where they were shooting the film. It was in the night but when we reached their location, we discovered that Fati Yola who is one of those billed to featured in the film was absent, so I told them I can play her role. After a small argument, they allowed me and I played the role perfectly well. Since then, I have been getting offers from producers, I played the lead role in Sa in Sa, I featured in Auren Jekan Nayika, and several other films that are so far successful in markets, on my part I won 2 awards from the City People magazine based in Lagos and I am also always smiling to the bank, I mean financially I am not doing bad though I had ups and downs before I became a star.
NP: Please share your marriage experience with us and why your marriage packed up after 5 years. In fact, we learnt that you broke up your marriage to enable you to join Kannywood?
Umma: Well, as I told you earlier I will not talk about my age or why my marriage crashed after 5 years. I considered these as personal to me, but it is not true that my marriage crashed because I wanted to be an actress as a Muslim, my ultimate desire is to be in my husband’s house, to bear children, to be opportune to worship God and generally, to make a success of my marriage so that my parents and other members of my family will be proud of me, so tell whoever is alleging that or is spreading the rumour of how my marriage packed up to shut up. What happened to me is destiny.
NP: People perceived you as somebody who is arrogant and pompous especially the way you behave in films and when you meet your fans in town?
Umma: Laughter, the way I dressed, behave and act in films were based on the director’s instruction, I don’t create what is not in the script given to me, please tell my fans that Ummah Shehu is friendly, cool, easy-going and not arrogant, as for those who are afraid to approach me for a relationship or marriage I am very much available. What I hate in my life is lies, once you come to me and I discovered that you are fake I mean you are lying to me then I will hate you and I will never like you again that is why even though I have boyfriends I am still taking my time to decide who to marry. I married before and it crashed so I want if I marry to make it my last marriage. I don’t have friends, I mean female friends in Kannywood I prefer to mind my business.
NP: What will you tell us as your material gains since you joined Kannywood like car, house or fat bank account?
Umma: I told you I have only spent six years in Kannywood but thank God financially I am not complaining my desire in life is to take good care of my mother my 16 years old daughter and other members of my family. I told you my father died about 8 years ago and my mother did not remarry so as a good daughter who is doing well financially it is my duty to provide good accommodation for my family, I have varieties of cars.
NP: Who do you admire most among Kannywood actors and actresses, I mean those you admire their acting skills?
Umma: They are many the industry today is growing rapidly, we have fine actors and actresses, like Ali Nuhu, Adam Zango, Sadiq Ahmad, Sadiq Sani Sadiq, Tijjani Asase, and on the part of female actresses I admire their acting skills of Nafisa Abdullahi, Rahama Sadau, Halima Atete Jamila Nagudu, Aisha Aliyu, Ummah Shehu that is my humble self and host of others, honestly they are many, those I did not mention their names because of space should know that I equally love them and admire them.
NP: Do you like politics?
Umma: Not at all but I always vote for my preferred candidates, this is because if I did not participate in voting I will not have the opportunity to criticize you if you fail to perform, in 2015 I voted for President Muhammadu Buhari, though we are facing difficulties today I believe it is because our economy was messed up before Buhari took over, as such we should beer with him and pray for him so that he will rescue our economy from total collapse. He has so far performed wonderfully well in areas of security, with time the difficulties we are facing will be a thing of the past.
NP: What is your opinion on the controversial film village project that was to be located in Kano and now moved to Lagos State?
Umma: As far as Ummah Shehu is concerned, the film village project was meant to assist film practitioners in the country especially those in the North to acquire more skills in film production and techniques, at the same time it will create more than ten thousand jobs according to those who designed the project. During the 2015 General Elections, Kannywood members used their talents especially through music and films to campaign for General Buhari who is now President Buhari, when he won the elections, some of our members visited him in his hometown Daura and he openly expressed his gratitude to members of the industry, so I feel it is out of his desire to assist us that is why he decided to locate the Multipurpose film village in Kano, the Home of Kannywood, but Ulamas for one reason or the other kicked against the project, but we are not surprised because even before now, some of them consider film business to be bid’ah to them acting profession is haram but since they know Islamic Religion greater than Umma Shehu I have no quarrel with their position over the project. Don’t forget some of them see us as Cheap and Jobless people as such, one will not be surprised if they kick against a beautiful project like the film village, in fact, even the society has this bad perfection about us whenever one wants to marry a lady from Kannywood people will start shouting alleging that we don’t stay in a marriage because we are used to money, freedom and other luxuries of life so once’s such are lacking in our homes we will start complaining that we want the marriage to collapse so these are some of the problems we are facing but honestly film village or no film village we will continue with acting profession until when God destined that we will stop. That is my stand.
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