I Didn’t like Being Called King of Kannywood- Ali Nuhu

It’s hard to imagine a time when Ali Nuhu, actor and producer wasn’t a house hold name in the Northern part of Nigeria considering he has been in Kannywood (The Nigerian Hausa-language film industry) for two decades.

While it may seem Ali Nuhu’s fans know everything about him, some of his fans may not know about his transition from Kannywood to Nollywood.

Also known as “King of Kannywood” or Sarki Ali by the media, an appellation he said he initially tried to resist, Nuhu revealed some untold details on his career in a live chat with Judith Audu. As well as his impact and contribution to Kannywood. Eelive.ng brings you excerpts as monitored by ARAMIDE ARIBIGBOLA.

At what point did you realise that you wanted to be in the industry?

“My acting journey stated at when I was a kid. I used to watch a lot of soap operas and home videos back then,” the 46-year-old actor said.

“Acting influenced my decision to go to the University of Jos. My parents wanted me to go to Ahmadu Bello University because I got an admission to study pharmacy; but I refused, just to pursue my dream. Along the line, I saw an audition advert and decided to go for it. The date for the audition coincided with my MAS 101 test. I skipped the test and went for the audition and a lot of my course mates said ‘How can you skip your test for this.’

“But I did and I got a minor role about 3 scenes with just a dialogue in one of the scenes. That was how it started.”

Was it the gig you got at NTA?

“No. The role came much more later after scholling and NYSC. I got the role when I wanted to cross over from Kannywood to Nollywood. A lot happened before then.

“I got my first gig in NTA, Jos. They used to do this tele-festival and everybody submits a short drama. It was titled “Based on the True Story.”

“I used to trek from the main campus which was along Bauchi road to work because nobody was giving me allowance for transport. At a point I said ‘This is too tedious, I can’t do it,’ but one of the directors encouraged me. Some filmmakers started coming from Lagos to shoot in Jos like Zack Orji. That was how I was able to connect with them. I was doing two things at the same time. If I don’t get a role I would act as a PA behind the camera. if you’re working as a PA, sometimes you might be lucky to play a minor role because you fit the description .

“So I got minor roles in movies like “Mama Sunday,” “Fire in the House,” “Secret Gold Mine and so many others. I had the opportunity to meet and work with Izu Ojukwu, he wanted someone that could speak Hindu as a driver transporting an Indian man that was kidnapped. I could speak Hindu so I went for it and I was able to play the role. At first I was nervous but the Indian man put me through.”

From Kannywood to Nollywood

“Doing my NYSC in Oyo state, I was always travelling to Lagos. Along the line, I got a minor role that I played in a movie called “The Dream” directed by Bond Emeruwa. I played a minor role as Chinwetalu Agu’s son. After that I came back to Kano, a friend of mine wanted to produce a film, since I was studying script writing under one of my mentors, I wrote a script and I presented it to my friend.

“We went to meet one of the famous Kannywood Directors, Tijani Ibrahim and he told me I was going to play the lead role. I hesitated at first and that was how I got my lead role. I got about 4 scripts when I was on that set. Though I wasn’t paid for the movie and my role as a producer. I was paid after the release of the movie. The movie was one of the biggest hits of that year. The big break came after a movie called “Sangaya”  which was followed by “Wosila.

“These films happened to be the biggest hits so far in the history o Kannywood movie. That was where I got the name “sarki”  because I played the role of a prince in “Sangaya.” That was when I decided to break boundaries and do something new. Because I was already popular in Kannywood. That was where capacity building came in. I said ‘fine its Nollywood.’

“Fortunately Amstel Malta sponsored a movie that Izu Ojukwo was directing so he asked me to play a sub lead role in the film. People told me ‘How can a new comer play the lead role when you’re there.’

“Eventually the lead actor couldn’t keep up so I had to play the lead role; and someone else played my role. That was how I got the role of “Sitanda” in the movie “Sitanda” and I won upcoming actor at the AMAA awards. That day about four producers gave me their script and that was how I got into Nollywood.”

Is singing and dancing a criteria to star in a Kannywood movie?

Not really, I mime the song, I don’t sing, It’s an added advantage if you know how to do both. Our pattern in Kannywood is just like Bollywood. It was influenced since the 50s.

How do you feel when people call you king of Kannywood?

It’s a part of me now. People address me as that anywhere I go. I used to be skeptical at first like, ‘There are other big actors in the industry, why should I be called that,’ but then some of my colleagues refer to me as King of Kannywood.

FKD Productions

“I started FKD productions to promote actors. Whenever an actor is under my company, I try to promote them as much as I can to also see that they work with other film makers, have different experience. I introduce them to movies under my companies and for others that I direct.

“When they get to a point where they are very popular, I try to let them start their own company. I help them out when they are producing their own personal movies. The only legacy you can leave behind is building other people. It gives me satisfaction to see that those people that used to be under me are doing well, doing big movies and getting endorsements.”

What led you to directing movies?

“As an actor I found out that some directors to not inspect scripts very well, that was what attracted led me to directing. When I started I began to work on capacity building. The female directors in the new nollywood like Kemi Adetiba and others are giving us a run for our money so I said ‘what is wrong with the men.’ Then I went to Asian academy for film and television in India, after that I enrolled at the University of Southern California.

We were about 30 from kannywood who went to India. During our discussion, we told them Kannywood was borne out of Bollywood. They told us that money goes to cinemas India and that is where they make money. So they advised that we can replicated that in kannywood if we really want to. So I asked, ‘How do we do it?’ And they said you guys have about 7,000 viewing centres in the North, you can convert them to cinemas. I also perfected my Hindu during my stay in India.”

How have you been able to solve film distribution problem in Nigeria?

“I noticed Film makers in Nigeria do not sit down to work out the distribution process of the project. Some of them do not talk about publicity and budget for publicity. This doesn’t happen in kannywood. There are movies I have done about social issues. So when I do movies like this, I try to get prominent organisations. My last movie was about drug abuse, so I got an NGO. They sponsored us and we went to some schools to educate them on the negative effect of drug abuse. We were able to impact part of the society.”

As a voice in Nollywood, what are you doing to attract investors to build more cinemas ?

“We have met with some people. Someone volunteered to build 3 cinemas in 3 different locations in the North and we suggested kaduna, kastina and Adamawa, since we have a lot of audience there. The cinema is coming up in kaduna very soon.”

Advise for upcoming actors

“Work very hard and network. You can do PA jobs as well. No matter how small a role is, make the best out of it. Be productive. It is not everybody that is called to be an actor. You can have a Passion for acting and end up being a very good director.”