By Saleh Inuwa, KANO
Renowned Kannywood actress, Maryam Adamu Booth, has revealed the reason why she was prevented from getting married to the man she loved when the opportunity came knocking.
The 29th-year-old Masters degree holder in an interview with BBC Hausa recently said she was prevented from marrying the son of an influential man in Kano State because she was an actress adding that it effected her.
READ ALSO: Kannywood actress, Maryam Booth, reveals husband-to-be
She said, “It has affected me already when somebody I love was stopped from marrying me because I am an actress, but recently, our actors are marrying from the industry so these will solve some of our problems, as for being cheap, I am not or some of us are not, I read up to Master’s Degree and I can do anything in my life, I am also thinking of going for my PhD, so whoever thinks I am still cheap is living in fool’s paradise, let me also use this opportunity to thank members of Kannywood including the Director Films and Censorship Board, Ismaila Afakallah, all of them stood solidly by me when my mother died, during the funeral prayers, during the third day prayers and seventh day prayers, I have nothing to say but to wish all of them the best because I was highly impressed with the solidarity they showed me when my mother died.
Maryam born into the family of actors and actresses revealed that her mother, late Zainab Booth was also a renowned actress including her brother, Amude Booth is also an actor in the movie industry as well as Ramadan Booth.
The Mass Communication graduate from Bayero University, Kano (BUK) gave an account on one of her saddest moment in life – how she battled and survived the period when her nude was leaked by her former boyfriend which went viral on social media.
“People started calling me that they saw my naked pictures in the social media, or my video if you like and the third one was when a very rich Kano man refused to allow his son to marry me simply because I am a Hausa actress, but I have no regrets because that is my chosen profession and I am still in Kannywood industry.
“Prayers, serious prayers, the picture was leaked by my former boyfriend who wanted to blackmail me because he learnt that I did commercials advertisement and got lots of money, he insisted that I must give him 10 million naira, when I refused, he leaked my pictures to blackmail me, not that the pictures was taken for any dubious purpose, we went to shoot a film, and he took me naked when I was changing my dress, I did not take it to be something serious because he was my boyfriend, but when it leaked into the social media, I was seriously embarrassed,” said Maryam.
According to her, she is taking her time to settle down and have a husband of her own as she is trying to recover from death of her mother.
“Very soon, I will choose one of them and settle down with, because marriage is like death, it will just come to you when you are less prepared, but immediately I settle down, I will stop acting but be engaged in other businesses related to entertainment like commercials for companies or film production, in fact, the guy that his father stopped him from marrying me, I am sure he must be watching this interview because he likes entertainment a lot.”
Asked about her favorite movies she has done she said, “There are many of my movies that are doing well in the market, but “Ki yarda da ni” remains my best film which I featured alongside Shamsu Dan Iya, then “Dijangala” which I did when I was still young, in fact, people now call me “Maryam Dijangala”, Maryam Adamu or Maryam Booth, the name Booth is my mother’s family name, my mother has foreign blood in her, I think it was from her father that she got the name Booth, he was a member of the British Army.”
