On Sunura Telenovela, Fatma is a gold digger. All she cares about is money. She loves the soft life but has no resources to lead that kind of lifestyle. So she goes after rich men to bankroll her.
I haven’t practised journalism as I would have loved to. It’s what I studied for but finding opportunities in the Kenyan media houses has been a long throw.
This is why I ventured into acting because it’s something I have always wanted to do. I did stage plays back in school but had never been on a TV set until I got the Sanura role.
I had almost given up on acting too when the Sanura opportunity presented itself. I had tried so many auditions without success. So when someone told me about Sanura editions I hesitated.
However, I was encouraged to attend the first audition. After the audition the production team promised to get back to me after two weeks. They didn’t.
When they didn’t I focused on my upcoming wedding. As I was going about with the preparation the Sanura team called. The commencement of the production date clashed with my wedding date.
I contemplated about passing up the opportunity for my wedding, as I wondered what my husband and in-laws would think of me but I decided whatever the outcome I wasn’t going to let the chance go.
These were the most difficult days of my life because after my wedding, as a newlywed I stayed with my husband for three days then left for Lamu for the production.
Being a Muslim woman coming from a very religious family with my father being an Imam it hasn’t been an easy ride. By choosing this career I am perceived to be a spoilt brat, especially by the extended family. I’m also considered not to be good enough to be a wife.
At first, my husband was also not supportive because we were just getting married. I had to plead with him a lot to let me chase my dream. At last, he did and he has been most supportive.
My husband and I have had to compromise to make our marriage work. When I left for the production we didn’t see each other for three months. We even missed our honeymoon, then he left the country and we reunited after another seven months.
The fact that my marriage was an arranged marriage was bound to have a lot of tension with me leaving almost suddenly because it was important that we spend those early days of our marriage together to get to know each other.
I have always been honest with this; my career will always come fast before any man or anything. If I had been forced to choose between marriage and my acting career, I would pass marriage.
This is because I don’t subscribe to the idea of being a stay-at-home mom. No matter how supportive my husband is, I have to have something of my own going on.
My relationship with my father is really good however I doubt if he has ever watched any episode with me acting. He supports what I do. But every time we have a sit down he always reminds me to ensure I cover myself well as an Islamic woman.[email protected]
