Beatrice Auta is a Christian from Taraba State who is based in Kaduna with her parents. She attended Adeyemo College Kaduna before proceeding to Kaduna State University where she bagged a degree in English Literature. Her grandfather was a Muslim, her late father went to Islamiyya School but later converted to Christianity. Beatrice Mother who is still alive is a Christian, she used to go to the location of the Kannywood crew to chase Beatrice away because she does not want her daughter to be an actress but later she accepted that Beatrice should remain in Kannywood because it is a decent profession like legal, academic or any other profession.
Beatrice spoke with Neptune Prime’s Kano Correspondent, Saleh Inuwa last week when she went to Kano to feature in a Television Series with Dadin Kowa and Arewa 24.
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EXCERPTS OF THE INTERVIEW
Neptune Prime: As a Christian lady, how did you find yourself in Kannywood?
Beatrice: Well, let me start from the beginning, my name is Beatrice Auta and I am from Taraba State. I am 35-years-old, I attended Adeyemo College Kaduna before proceeding to Kaduna State University where I obtained a degree in English Literature. Along the line, I started going to Kaduna State Ministry of Youths Sports and Culture. One day, I met with a crew from Kano base Dadin-Kowa and Arewa 24 Television Houses, they came to audition new artists, so I decided to try my luck and luckily for me, I was the only one chosen. Since then, I have been getting offers from the main Kannywood. I featured in Talatu number 1 alongside Ali Nuhu and later did another film with Adam A. Zango, I also participated in other films that are yet to be released but basically, I do television series for Dadin Kowa.
NP: Do you speak Hausa Fluently, because to act in Kannywood, you must speak Hausa fluently?
Beatrice: Well, I told you I am from Taraba but based in Kaduna. I am fully a northerner and I speak Hausa very well. One thing that even surprises me was that as a Christian, I was easily accepted into Kannywood which is 99.9% dominated by Muslims. Even from my first film, I related very well with Adam Zango, Ali Nuhu and other senior members of Kannywood. Ali Nuhu, for example, I used to hear people saying all sort of things about him that he is pompous but people need to meet Ali in person and know the type of person he is, he is a complete gentleman, very friendly and relates very well with whoever comes his way. I am looking forward to featuring in many films alongside him or other members of Kannywood that are first-class stars.
NP: You have a degree in English, and speaks the language with ease, if an offer comes your way, will you act in Nollywood?
Beatrice: Well, I have very good friends in Nollywood, people like Emeka Ike, but the truth is, I am not interested in acting in Nollywood. The story I am hearing is that for a beautiful lady to be successful in Nollywood, she must be ready to sleep with directors or producers. Secondly, even if one will not compromise her body, the way they act and interpret their script is more or less like having real sex. One will not mind if it will end at only kissing and hugging. That is why I prefer Kannywood because one will marry one day and have children. You will be embarrassed if they watch your film with a man both of you almost naked in bed having sex though it is stage-managed. Children may not understand, in Kannywood, we don’t even hold each other hands.
NP: Are you married?
Beatrice: I have a fiancé and very soon I will settle down because I am in a serious relationship. But definitely, there are some things about me which I don’t want people to read on pages of newspapers. I have a boyfriend who is more or less part of Kannywood, if I settle down and have children if they want to take acting as a profession, I will allow them. I used to hear a lot of things about male and female members of Kannywood like sexual harassment, sex for roles, and drug consumption, but I can tell you, most of these things are not true and even if they are true, these are vices you can find in any profession. It is because we are always in the public eye that is why people bother to know our life in detail, the society believes that we are cheap including allegations like we not staying in marriage whenever we settle down. All these things are not true as such, people should feel free to approach us for marriage or relationship we are as decent as other ladies out there, some things that ladies do in higher institutions in other to pass exams are worst than what is obtainable in Kannywood.
NP: Can you marry a Muslim?
Beatrice: Well, it depends. I told you my grandfather was a Muslim, my father went to Islamiyya School later converted to Christianity and died as a Christian. So anything can happen but the truth is I am in a serious relationship with somebody who promised to marry me and he is a Christian.
NP: Most times on location, directors used to suspend activities temporarily to go and pray, how do you feel as a Christian because when they are praying you will only be watching?
Beatrice: First, I am deeply grateful that I was easily accepted into Kannywood in spite of my religious background and since then, nobody has ever shown me differences based on religion and discriminate against me. In fact, as a lady, some of our colleagues used to come to me for a casual relationship without minding the fact that I am a Christian. But I think this is why it is always good for the government to invest in the entertainment industry so that they can use this opportunity to integrate Muslims and Christians. Government can use artists to easily pass messages to society including even their achievements and what they want to achieve. So Kannywood as a very big entertainment industry can be used by Government for many purposes.
NP: Whenever you go for film production outside Kaduna, you normally put up in hotels, how do you feel as a single lady staying in a hotel?
Beatrice: When we go on location, we do things uniformly, if it is a hotel, the whole crew will stay in a hotel when it is time for eating, we eat together but so far I visited only Kano and Kaduna for a film project. In Kaduna, I normally stay in our house when we are shooting a film here and in Kano, I also have where I use to put up not necessarily in a hotel but basically, for one to put up in a hotel, does not mean that one is wayward.
NP: You are 6-years-old in Kannywood, what will you name as some of your material benefits?
Beatrice: I became popular, some will ask for my number, some will tell me openly that they like me, financially I won’t say I gained much because I am still new here but honestly I am not complaining. The way offers are coming my way gives me time when you come here next time, I will be choosing which car to use to go and drop you. There is good money in the industry, and please tell those watching us that we are not prostitutes or cheap, we are only interpreting roles given to us by directors so our life on stage is different from our real lives. After all, people do all they could to associate with us, some even marry us just to brag that they married a Hausa film star. So whoever is coming to us, please come with a clean mind.
NP: Before approaching you for this interview, I did my own investigation and discovered that you have two children both of them boys, is that true?
Beatrice: At times, these are some of the things that scare us from talking to the press. If one has children whether through wedlock or not there is no way you will deny your children motherhood or motherly love. After all, I don’t live in isolation, I live in the midst of people and definitely one cannot hide if you marry before or you have children as for your question, I have no comment but that’s a topic for another day.
NP: Apart from acting, what do you do for a living?
Beatrice: I am into petty business, I use to travel to Lagos to buy goods and sell in the North but these days I am always on location doing one film or the other. I love acting, I am praying hard to be popular and accepted by society like Ali Nuhu, Sadiq Sani Sadiq, Sadiq Ahmad, Mai Shinku, Tijjani Asase, then on the side of the female artists, I want to be like Jamila Nagudu, Nafisa Abdullahi, Fati Washa, Halima Atete, Hadiza Gabon and host of others. They are many, which means I have a long way to go but I am growing. In fact, when I joined Kannywood newly, my mother used to go to our location and chase me away but with time, she has accepted that I can continue. About politics which you asked me about earlier, I prefer to set up an NGO to help the less privileged like orphans or to be a producer so that I can be educating society through my films.
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