Actress Foluke Daramola Chats With David Ajiboye

A FAN ONCE TOUCHED MY BREAST TO KNOW IF THEY’RE REAL-Actress Foluke Daramola.

Heavily ‘endowed’ star actress, Foluke Daramola reveals in this chat with DAVID AJIBOYE how she has been coping as a mother, housewife and actress. She also  recalls how a fan touched her boobs just to be sure if they are real. Excerpts:

How did you find yourself acting?

I started out on DBN before I went to the university . Later I moved to AIT on Our Time. It was while I was at AIT that I met Uncle Tunji Bamishigbin, who took me into Palace. He actually introduced me to acting. It wasn’t so strange or difficult for me, as I had always appreciated movie actors. Besides I used to speak to myself in the mirror while alone in a room and from there, I concluded that I can actually express myself and expand my talent.

How many movies have you produced or directed on your own?

It will be difficult to mention all the ones I’ve been part of because they are very many, both the English/Igbo and the Yoruba ones. But for the ones I have produced and directed, we have Oriojori, Emi, 50/50, Ta ni ki n fe, Nkan Meta, and a whole lot of them. I also write and sell scripts.

Which of these brought you into the limelight?

I wouldn’t know, but I will say with me, my acting came with fame. I am just an ordinary girl walking on the street as Foluke Daramola and when I was in the cast of Palace, the same Foluke bacame celeberated. All of a sudden people from Encomium just picked some of my pictures from Uncle Tunjiand splashed them on the pages of the magazine. So you see, my acting actually came with fame. But sincerely I was lucky to have been brought up by Uncle Tunji, who wouldn’t allow me minor roles like my peers.

What are the pains of fame?

A whole lot. For instance, one is deprived of privacy You have to act as a role model, learn how to comport youself at all times. All the same I think it has helped me to build my life into something worthy of emulation. Though one can’t be perfect, I still try as much as possible to be myself.

Besides acting, do you do other things?

Yes, I produce, direct, present and do business like baby dresses and jwellery.

From your own assessment of the returns from television soaps and home-movies, which one will you say pays more and is actually worth all the pains?

Both have their pros and cons. Then, I’ll say the soap -opera came with fame, while the movies came with more money. But now, both are almost on the same level because the soap-operas, the good ones I mean, are currently offering better money.

Have you won any awards before?

Yes, about three. I won the Upcoming Actress, Afro-Dublin Awards in 2003/2004 and the Afro-Nollywood Awards in London in 2006, I also won awards while in school. For instance, while in the university, I was the best students’ Union Government, SUG, Executive as the Director of Socials. And as Youth Corps member, I won the most sociable corper award. It could have been more, but for my marriage and its dictates.

Is it true that you are the second wife of your husband?

In a way, it is true.

How do you mean?

His first wife is dead. But that happened before we got married. I have never dreamt of being anyone’s second wife in my life. It has never been my idea of fun. Myself and my husband grew up together. Both families are friends. He was like my older brother and we attended the same church until we moved from Anthony to Ogba. Then, we lost contact.

Along the line, he got married and lost his wife. We met again in 2001, dated briefly, but not very seriously. He and my elder brother, now deceased, were close friends. It was in 2004 that we became more serious and got married. Being a second wife is actually against everything I believe in life. To me is like living in a fool’s paradise. My mother lost my father when she was only 36 years old. She had the chance to remarry, but she did not. She stayed single to take care of us and this she did maintained till date. Some may have their reason for doing it, maybe for their lack of interest in younger men, for some religious belief, but for me, its not my idea of fun.

Have you been combining your role as a wife and the demands of acting?

Well, it has been very challanging. It has also been exciting as I see my kids and husband. It has actually not been rosy, but it worth all the pains. A lot of time we artistes fail to realise that we should bow out when the ovation is loudest and go backstage. Many cannot differentiate between real life and showbiz. The life is the real life. You can’t always be the star, and everyone has their time for fame. For instance, the way they call Bukky Ajayi is not the way they call Foluke Daramola and the way they call Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Joke Jacobs is not the way they call me. It goes on like that and it is, therefore imperative for us all to prepare for the backstage very well and promptly.

This is why you see me spending more time with my family than what I spend out there. I try to build my home now, so that I’ll be able to say I enjoyed my showbiz and also enjoy my home.

Now, my family life takes about 70 percent of my time and my job takes only 30 percent. It is simply all about having to balance the two. The experience has helped me to be more realistic and of course it has made me to be more matured and focused. I wouldn’t have been able to cope, anyway, without God’s strength and the understanding of my husband. But I wouldn’t want to take this for granted.

To what would you  ascribe your swift rise in acting?

Humility and respect aside, my acting talent has been my potent asset. My mother being a teacher, always told us to be respectful. Again as a Yoruba girl, who also respect our culture, I relate to people with humility and respect. God also wants it and preached it in the bible. It helps me to get along with people and to retain me in the minds of people, especially those relevant to my success. This doesn’t mean I don’t aspire to be better, I’m also ready to learn and to take correction.

Uncle Yomi Obileye, one of my godfathers, once instructed me to always put a smile on my face even in the worst of situations, just to continue to appeal to my fans. You can imagine how difficult this can be, when you are just having a row with somebody beside you in a car and a fan screams your name on the street. But it is just part of the game. This is also required for my husband, a politician gunning for councillorship seat, needs me to get along with all cadres of people.

Do you extend your humility to your husband and to people at home?

I sure do, but you know that a woman will always be a woman. He is a caring man sometimes, I take this for granted. I would tell him sorry only when the situation gets very, very bad. In most cases, I want him to offer the apologies. We both can be stubborn at times.

Do you still go for auditions?

Not anymore, only when I have double-cast roles.

Have you ever been harrassed sexually and what is your opinion about its association with the industry ?

Sexual harassment is everywhere. It is not exclusive to the movie industry. As far as I am concerned, If you don’t want to be harassed, you won’t be. I have said it before that when I started showbiz, it came almost with stardom, but not with money. And by the time I started home videos, I had paid my dues. Once you see that you are not getting jobs, you go home.

You need not to hang around there as if your whole life depends on it. You don’t have to present yourself as being desperate, otherwise people will take you for an unusual ride. You need to carry yourself with dignity. That does not mean you cannot have emotional attachment to people in the industry. Your decision to date somebody is not the same thing as being sexually harassed. People should know that it is not every role they can play.

When was your happiest moment?

It was the day I got married. Whenever I remember the day, I easily forgive my husband for whatever offence he has committed. You know a woman’s wedding day is highly appreciated. Even when I remember what you press guys did on that day, I usually let go of your bad side after the event.

And the saddest time?

It was when my elder brother died. He was my husband’s friend. This was in 1991, 10 years after my father died. The day my father died should have been my saddest moment, but I was only two years old, and hardly knew anything.

What is the craziest thing a fan has done to you?

Touching my boobs. He felt he had to find out whether they are real or not. Well, I also tried to slap him, but he ran away.

Would you like to comment on some of the negative stories about your marriage?

Yes, the first one came two weeks after my wedding. They said, Faluke’s husband beats her up, and by then we were on honeymoon at Ibadan. We were actually supposed to be at Abuja, but I had a production I had to finish. We were lodged at D-Rovans Hotel in Ibadan when the headline came. You can imagine how hurtful this could be. Aside this, there was another one that came from Encomium, saying I had a misunderstanding with my husband and that he had moved out of our home. Immediately we read it, we went to the publisher and my husband told him that if it ever repeat itself, he wouldn’t hesitate filing a suit against them. They apologised and we concluded it was the price of stardom. It is paindful because it never happened.

Where do you see yourself in the nearest future?

I see myself in Nigeria, becoming established in my talk-show. I also see myself as a role model like Joke Jacobs, Olu Jacobs, Tunji Bamishigbin, Yomi Obileye, Jide Kosoko, my mother and my father.

How fulfilled are you in your choosen career?

So far, I’ll say it’s been good. I enjoy what I am doing, but I wish to be back in the corporate world to actually practice what I have read.