Marriage Not a Must For Me -Funke Adesiyan

Funke Adeshiyan is a gorgeously beautiful actress next door. The talented thespian graces movie screen regularly and she is one of the darlings of producers, who is also well loved by many movie buffs.

Despite being dogged by controversy, Funke is still relevant and appreciated by lovers of movies, who are pleased seen her in Nollywood films.

One thing that is surprising however is that this screen goddess is not yet married, but she disclosed that she is in a relationship. Another honest revelation from the lady, who was once rumoured to be in a relationship with another actor, Saidi Balogun is that she cannot stop men from coming after her, and that she didn’t have any love affair with Lagos socialite, Sati Ramoni (Salawe).

The lovable actress speaks on some other issues in this interview.

How has Funke Adesiyan faired so far as an actress ?

I am grateful to God. God has been good to me. He has always been good to me and He has not ceased to be good to me. I thank God and everything is fine. I have not been an everyday actress, I am choosy with what I do,so that’s it.

What’s  your projection for the year and how far have you gone in fulfilling it?

I  like to do things properly and I scrutinize myself a lot. I am my own critic and it’s difficult for people to criticize me because before I bring anything out I would have checked it out to see where it’s lacking or lagging behind. So, there is something we are working on.

It sounds like  the project is  your project for the year. Is it?

It may not be for the year, it may be for the decade. Who knows? We are working on something and we are still talking to some parties we need to talk to.

It’s like you are trying to do something different from what others are doing. Correct?

Well, you bite yourself and shoot yourself in the leg a lot of times when you try to do something different from what every other person is doing.  I  do what every other person is doing in a different way. So, I am doing what every other person is doing in a different way.

How exactly did you become an actor?

Probably I have been acting from  the womb, I don’t know (laughs). I grew up acting. There was a game we played when we were  children. You play mummy, I play daddy and all that and while I was in primary school and   secondary school, I was in the drama group. We actually had a group in secondary school and  we took  plays to other schools and people pay to watch. So, acting for me started professionally in secondary school. I also studied Theatre Arts and  maybe that gave me a little credibility in the industry.

Tell us about making it a more serious thing?

I think that started with my movie which I shot in 2007. I wrote the story and produced it. That was my first major production.

On that note , what was your mission because some act for fame?

If you ask those who know me very well, they will tell you I am  very playful. Whatever I do in life, I catch fun along the way. I think I came to the industry to have fun. I just wanted to produce.  I had this fantastic story and I wanted to tell it. Maybe it’s funny.  I did not play the major role in the movie and I was the one producing the movie. I just wanted to tell my story,  so, I just live my life. If I like , I take a walk. The day I decided to ride on a BRT bus, I had fun and all that, so I don’t believe in money because a pauper in the morning could be the richest in the night. Money is just a means to an end not an end in itself. For me, happiness is an end, so, whatever I do I try to be happy. I also think fame just came, I never wanted to be famous. I think people saw through me. A lot of fans saw through me, they saw how I interpreted roles and they felt  “she’s an actress”.

You seldom appear in movies but people would have expected to see you move in movies like they read about you on pages of newspapers . Why?

Maybe you guys (journalists) are in love with me (laughs) . What’s your definition of a good actress? Is it about how many movies you appear in? One of the people I like in the industry is Aunty Tina Mba. Her interpretation is impeccable and you do not see her everywhere. Another person like that is Aunty Joke Muyiwa who  does not act everyday. To me, acting is more of a hobby than a job. I act when I feel like, I do not allow people to push me around. If I do not fit a role I am being offered, I say sorry I do not fit that role. I am not an everyday actress.  I have never wanted to be a face on every movie jacket. I don’t want to do that; I just want to be remembered for being good at what I do.

Is there any particular role you have longed to play that you have not ?

Is there a particular role?  I don’t know. I think I am one of the lucky few who have been able to do a lot. I have played the role of a ninety year old woman which was extremely challenging but basically whatever that comes my way, I take it as my best.

What would you say distinguishes  you among your peers?

Probably being real. I am a realistic person. I try to distinguish between the character I am playing and  Funke Adeshiyan. I tend not to lose who I am to the character or one of the characters I played. I still find a way to break it, I don’t get stuck on a role.

Can you let us into what you consider  the plus or minus of the movie sector?

Well,  one of the things we need to work on is not in the movie industry. It’s outside the movie industry , but it’s  affecting the movie industry. It’s finance. We are extremely unlucky when it comes to finance. We hear about figures and you’re  like where did the money disappear to? It was said that government gave $200 million  to the industry. I feel it should circulate but it’s invisible. It’s funny. Even the producers who manage to work with their sweat and money  still get cheated and that is why I am slowing down on production. I think we should be able to walk  into the banks to seek   loans but how can you do that when in a country of 140million,  marketers  tell you a movie did not sell one million copies. It’s very frustrating.

Tell us about the story that was all over town that you did breast implant… 

I wouldn’t know where and why the story was all over. Maybe we need to ask those who started it.

Could be it that you dressed in a way that made your boobs look bigger or something?

I would not know, but I guess I dress appropriately. I am not expected to wear Iro and Buba to a night club, so I don’t  know where the story came from. I don’t know why people enjoy putting others down and I think we should cultivate the habit of celebrating ourselves. We should celebrate good things in other people and stop digging what is not meant to be dug.

I try to live my normal life. I try to remain myself .  I try not to let my freedom be taken away from me. If I feel like eating Amala at a buketaria, I walk in and I eat. One million people could stare at me and that is because they want to stare; what I want to do is eat. If I feel like buying corn on the roadside, I park and I buy. I try as much as possible not to let fame get into my head and I try to live a normal life.

Are you not thinking of marriage  at your age?

Like I have always said and believed, marriage is not a must for me. Everybody wants to get married but everybody is not meant to be married. There are people who are not meant to be married but they  forced themselves into marriage , because a brother or sister  is married. You discover that you opt out in a  few months and divorced. Why did you get married in the first place knowing you are not meant to be married? Firstly, I think you should understand your nature. That  said, I wouldn’t say expect the marriage by next week or next year and it also does not mean I can not call you in the evening that I am not married. What’s most important is finding a great person. You could fall in love with the person but it’s about finding someone that you are compatible with , someone you could cohabitate together, someone you could stay with and be happy together.

Are you searching for the right person?

I am not searching  for the right person, I am in a relationship with a great man. It does not mean that we will be married tomorrow or we cannot get married today. That is not what matters to me. Marriage is the last thing, what matters is being happy together. He’s happy with me and I am happy with him, so, that’s fantastic and fine.

For how long would you want to have the cards open?

Forever! I think one should live a life of being open. I think life is too short to say I am going to love you forever when you don’t know what happens tomorrow. Why don’t you leave it open?

You are believed to be dating socialite Sati Ramoni.  What’s the attraction?

I am not going to say anything and as a journalist you are supposed to know that it’s not everything that is being said that’s true will end up on the pages of newspaper.

There have been a couple of controversial matters in which you have been fingered. Don’t you mind  being talked about in that light?

I think a lot of journalists are in love with me (laughs) and I think you cannot dictate what’s  being written about you , so some who are not journalists but mere writers do all that  stuff. I could remember a lady journalist published something I never said and she never interviewed me, so you can imagine that. In that case, how many people would know what actually happened… that she never spoke with me?

Some             actresses, especially the young ones are always well-to-do than their male counterparts. What’s your take on that?

I have not noticed that, but I know of  men  who are rich and doing well as the ladies but that does not mean there wouldn’t be some who would lack. It’s natural that there will be a leader and a follower.

What’s your childhood like?

Growing up for me was fun because I wanted to do anything  and I think it’s still telling on me, I don’t like to be docile.  I was a tomboy, I was a footballer, I was a dancer, I was everything. I did not see any limitation to whatever I wanted to achieve.

Are you ever conscious that you are a role model of  some sort?

What I tell people and what I do is just try to be myself. A lot of people pretend to be what and who they are not just because you don’t want one person to feel bad about you. Some people somewhere will appreciate you for being who you are, don’t try to be anybody’s role model.

How do you cope with attention from men?

I cannot stop men from coming after me. I don’t insult or be rude to them. To those I could make understand, I tell them the best we could achieve is friendship.

Can you recollect your  first   kiss?

Actually, I can’t think of that or remember.

What other things do you do?

I like business, I am a business-oriented person. I sell all kinds of wine and  I am into building construction. I sell cars, I have a saloon, I have a tailoring shop and I am going into food distribution. I have a boutique too.

-Wole Adepoju

July 04, 2013