YOU seem to be getting more movie roles presently
(Laughs) Well, like I said earlier in the year, I am back full time now. And that is the reason you have been seeing my face regular now in movies. Yes, I took a break, to do some other things, but I am back into the movie full time now.
Having taken a break, how easy was it for you to get these roles?
I won’t say it wasn’t easy and I won’t say it was easy too. I had to and meet a new producer that I have not met before through a friend who had worked with them. I also met with those I have also worked with in the past. And having been in the industry, it was not like I was a new comer. My being in the industry for sometime gave me a certain amount of leverage too.
Why did you take a break?
I just wanted to try my hands on some other things. I delved into one or two things but I just realised that it will take time before it can start yielding dividends. So I just had to rush back to where I have my passion more. I decided that it will be better for me to be doing that at the side instead of just leaving the movie.
Tell us about the projects you have on hand now?
I am on location at the moment. The shooting of the movie started since on Thursday. I won’t want to disclose much about it.
There is the belief that Soap Operas pay more. From your own perspective, why do you enjoy movies? Is it that you prefer it to soaps?
Let me make this clear. I won’t say soaps pay more than movies. They are both the same. It is just that there is time factor for the both of them. Soap runs mostly every week, while movie takes time to come out. While lot of people have the opportunity to buy, they feel why buy when I can actually watch it later when it is old on TV? It is not like I have preference for one to the other. To me, it is the same and I am doing it because it is my job.
Being a single mother, how do you manage your time and work with your son?
Oh, I manage quite well. And we have other working mothers who have been doing well with such situation. I know we are never in town but he is my friend; he understands me and God has been faithful. My family too has been helpful. They help me out when necessary.
An actress once said it is God managing the love for her son and the man in her life. What is your own story?
Let me borrow my colleague’s word, it is just God, because the love for a father differs from the love for a wife. God made what is good so He has been the one helping out in this aspect. And I must say I have been lucky. I have not had any problem managing my affairs and my son. Both have been more like one; a two in one thing for me.
As an actress, you get male advances all the time. How do you cope with the annoying ones?
Very annoying, (laughs). Because they don’t understand that you cannot date every man. It is not possible. It just has to be one person and if you have that person, you have that person. If you date every man, what will you be called? I won’t lie to you. When I get to that point, I just blank them and give them stern warnings. And when I get to that point, you won’t like the other side of me. It gets embarrassing when they keep coming.
But don’t they misunderstand that as being a snub?
As long as I get the result I want if I cannot pass the message that I cannot date you. It doesn’t matter if you still want to go tell the other fans I have or men that want to keep coming or that you went to her and she refused. It is a good point.
Leaving acting something else must have been worth the sacrifice. Why did you have to come back to acting again?
The profit was taking time to come up and I just felt leaving acting for it should not have taken place. Along the line, I realized that I was pouring in money but was not getting anything in return. With acting, you spend time and still earn dividends.
Has there been a time you wanted to quit the acting?
Every job is tedious. Sometimes, you just realise that you need you time and space. And because you cannot get that time and space, you can’t be yourself again. And that is because you want to satisfy your fans. So the time factor makes it not that easy. At some point, you feel like quitting. But you can’t, because you love the job.
It would seem like you have got your groove back. What is behind this new personality?
Yes, I got my groove back. When did I actually do that? When people started complaining that I no longer go out, that all of a sudden I became an introvert that I never was, I was in a kind of stress at one point, but when I came out, I got my groove back.
Having been in a relationship that didn’t end well, is it a discouragement for you not to want to go into another?
Yes, for the fact that I didn’t die in the relationship. It is a stepping point for me to want to do better and not make the same mistake again.
Has it not affected your relationships with other men who have come into your life?
No, I can’t do something like that. The only thing that rings in your head is caution; to want to be cautious all the time not to repeat the same mistake again like with the first relationship.
Are you saying there is the possibility of getting married again?
Yes, I will get married in due time. Like I have said before, it is just like saying because you have a broken heart from your first boyfriend, you won’t want to have another one. Or because you lost out in your first marriage and you didn’t have a child in the process, now you don’t want to have children again. It does not follow. If you say childbirth is awful and because of that you don’t want to have another, if another one comes, what will you do? Would you throw it away? I won’t get another one and make another trial but I am asking God to take control because I don’t want to fail again.
Apart from acting, what other things are you involved with at the moment?
Modeling, I just started that. Funny enough, it is just like I joined and ran away. I guess that was because of time and then I was being conscious about some certain things. But I now realise that everything works like the normal movie industry because it is still entertainment. So I just had to be patient and I saw things that were not right then and they are actually the same as with the movie industry. I just had to fall back into it. Most of the ones I have done are starting to come out.
Didn’t your failed relationship affect your son?
God is the foundation first. Secondly, I am not the only person that has a child. If I start counting names, you will be shocked at how they have managed their children so well. And you won’t believe they actually came out from broken relationships. A broken relationship does not affect the way you raise your child. It does not have anything to do with it. It is a personal thing, you are either a good mother or you are not. There are some people that their marriages are still intact. But their kids are bad. Like I said, it is a personal thing.
What do you regret about your failed relationship as a married woman and a career lady?
My career dropped when I was married because I wanted my marriage to work. I gave my career a hold at that time, I wanted to know what it is like to be married and be in the home front. All I wanted was to know how to be a wife, mother and how to take care of my home. But it didn’t work so I said to myself why not pick up from where you stopped from and just move ahead.
Tell us what it is like being a single mother now and pursuing a career at the same time?
Well, I would say it is just the grace of God and then I would say it is a bit easy for both of us because I have taught my son a lot of things in the course of time. It is like having someone you call your brother. That is how we are. It is like that between us because I have come to make him my friend and he has made me his friend too. Even when I am not there, he knows what to do. He will do them to a stage that all I have to do when I get back is to complete it.
What was it like for you acting semi-nude in the movie Friday Night?
Hahaha, it’s nothing dear and don’t forget that I am an actor too. So, I am willing to interpret any role perfectly.
What about the negative side?
Naaaa, Its only brought more jobs for me (laugh).
