Hauwa Maina: The last interview

Kannywood star Hauwa Maina died on Wednesday. Famous for her roles in such epic Hausa movies as ‘Queen Amina’ and ‘Bayajida’, the Biu, Borno State-born star also delved into movie production and directing. She has also won many awards over the years. Here, we present again, our last interview with the late icon.   Weekend […]

Kannywood star Hauwa Maina died on Wednesday. Famous for her roles in such epic Hausa movies as ‘Queen Amina’ and ‘Bayajida’, the Biu, Borno State-born star also delved into movie production and directing. She has also won many awards over the years. Here, we present again, our last interview with the late icon.

 

Weekend Magazine: How did you get into the film industry?

Hajia Hauwa Maina: I acquired a National Diploma in Management from Kaduna State Polytechnic and at the moment combine freelancing with Liberty Radio with acting, producing and directing movies.

Interest in the art is what lured me in. As a student, a family friend, Salisu Salinga, came visiting and then said he had to go to location. I asked what ‘location’ meant and he said it was the site for shooting films. I didn’t know he was a producer. 

I said, ‘wow, I would have loved to be an actress, but I don’t think I can.’ He said I could. But I refused. At the time, I was envisioning in my mind how my posters would be scattered on the streets and how much message I would be able to pass across to people through this medium. 

We laughed and he left. A few moments later, he came back in a rush and asked if I was serious and that if I was, he would like to give me a trial. Then I got nervous as it seemed like it was soon going to be a reality and began to drag my feet. I told him I would first come to watch them shoot.  This I would say was the beginning in 1999.

WM: What was your first movie?

It was called ‘Tuba,’ I don’t know if the title was later changed. 

WM: What was that experience like?

I was nervous and jittery. It is something I’d never done but even then, something kept telling me ‘this is your chance to prove yourself and send out whatever message you want to send to the world.’ So that encouraged me. Until date, I don’t feel I made a mistake going into the film industry.  I acted as a lady in love… as you know, love is everything. 

WM: You have been in the industry for almost 20 years now. Can you share your experience with us?

There were a lot of hurdles to cross. Comparing the industry from that time till date, one can say that there is a lot of improvement. There is a lot of awareness and people are more enlightened about what we are doing. 

Then, with the culture and religion playing a major role… even if there was nothing bad with what you were doing, the mere mention that you were in anyway affiliated with movies brought about ill-feelings towards you and the perception that you were wayward. 

Whatever challenges I faced in the course of my career, especially with my family, I encouraged them all to back me up and support me. I told my family when they raised objections that it’s better for me to go and be able to account for my destination and what I was there doing rather than to not be able. It’s better for me to do this, because I love it. 

I was eventually able to convince my mother who was the one I had a little problem with, because people would go behind me and tell her all sorts of things. But my father was more understanding. When the reports about me became too much for him to hear, he called me and asked if there was anything I did in the course of making movies that was bad; and I said ‘no’. 

One day I gave him one of the movies to watch and he said ‘is this all?’ I told him ‘yes’. That day he said anybody who catches me doing something wrong he gives permission to punish right there and then. Nobody should come back to him with any stories because he didn’t want to hear them. He said after all, people go to university to study theatre (arts). He gave me his blessings and that opened doors for me. Later on my mother followed with her support and blessings. 

In fact, I became an angel in the industry. Whenever I called my mum and told her I was on location, she would shower me with prayers. 

It has also been really tasking with managing career and family. 

WM: The challenges you faced are what many other women go through. How do you advise them to handle them?

Women need to divide their time and always place family first, because your children need your time. Don’t give 100 per cent to film. You need to raise your children to be good people and decent citizens, because the pride if they turn out well will come to you.  

I’m pleading with other women to take this seriously. Film is a medium through which you can even teach morals and other good ethics; so we should start it from our own doorsteps. 

WM: What’s your take on women having to do sexual favours to get roles?

I haven’t experienced it, but I advise women not to succumb to such. You only spoil your future and in the end he may not give you the role. What if he gives it to you that one time, will he continue to give you? He could also spread the word that it was what he did. If I’m faced with such I would back out and rather not be cast.

WM: How well have Kannywood movies taught outsiders about the culture and lifestyle of northern Nigeria?

We have a lot of non-Hausa who act, direct and produce in Kannywood. There are also collaborations between Nollywood and Kannywood. The storylines I believe also portray the positives of the north, because if they do not, they won’t encourage people to pick interest in the north. 

You don’t know where these films go to. So, if you tell lies about your culture you are portraying your people in bad light. The right story should be told. 

I usually feel bad when I see some of our Nigerian police being portrayed as tattered in movies when there are a lot of very prim and proper ones.  What’s wrong with portraying them in positive light so that foreigners can have that impression of them?

The same goes with nursing and other professions. We should portray our own in good light. 

WM: You acted as Queen Amina. How did you land the role?

Wow, that is a movie I love very passionately. I think it is my favourite even though there is ‘Bayajida’. It’s a historical film which I am so happy schools use to teach their students. There was a child who watched ‘Bayajida’ and was able to pass his exams, because he watched it and his father explained it to him. 

I never even heard of the auditioning. Out of the blue, Garba Adamu called me and said he didn’t see me at the audition. I asked which audition and he said, ‘Queen Amina’. I said since I wasn’t called, I won’t go. But he persisted saying it’s for everybody. He gave me the address and I went. 

Already, somebody was playing ‘Queen Amina’ on the set. In fact, practice had started. I was called out as slave girl, I acted it joyfully. The day after I was called to act as Queen Amina’s sister, I did it. 

It went on and on. I don’t reject roles even if I’m acting only one scene, I will do it with all my heart. 

On the last day the man in charge of the production, Abdulkareem, came and asked who was playing the role, ‘Queen Amina.’ When he was shown, he said no. So he cancelled the audition and asked anyone interested to come to Kano for the new one. 

I was very happy and saw it as my chance. Meanwhile, I had gone to pay to learn horse-riding because I knew there would be no ‘Queen Amina’ without it. I decided to go for the auditioning and told myself that it was better for me to fail trying than not to try at all. 

We went to Kano, did the auditioning and I got the role. 

WM: What gives you an edge over your contemporaries? 

I must say I’m composed and I also try to choose roles based on my passion and conviction. Not the money. I think of my family, my background and all that. 

One should always remember where you come from and where you are heading and put all these into consideration, no matter what you do or where you find yourself. 

WM: Which role has been the most difficult for you to interpret?

Definitely ‘Queen Amina’. I had to learn sword fighting, horse-riding and how to talk tough. After the movie, it took me time to come back to my real self, Hauwa. 

WM: How do your children relate with you as the mum they see at home and the one on the screen?

My daughter sometimes helps me read my scripts. I usually request for scripts, because I like to know what the whole thing entails before I go into it. I give them to her and she reads out. She shares her views with me whether she agrees or disagrees. We come to a compromise and take a decision. 

If I have a say in their lives, I believe that they should also have a say in my life. 

WM: What’s the difference for you being in Nollywood movies and Kannywood movies? 

I feel it is the same. It’s just the language. English isn’t my mother tongue. So I’ve to learn to articulate the words correctly and be more composed. I have to read my scripts more and get the lines as they want it. Aside this it’s the same body language and acting. 

WM: What projects are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just finished a movie, ‘Rai Da So’ (Life and love) which I sponsored and is now on postproduction editing.  The next one I want to do is an epic movie, ‘Yamtarawala.’ This is a hero from Biu and I want to tell his story to the world.