Kannywood actress Hauwa Garba, popularly known as Yar Auta, has been a leading female comedy character in the Hausa film industry.
Her unique and distinctive character has stood her out among her peers in the industry; and her recent role as Sabura in TV series Gidan Badamasi has increased her popularity.
Hauwa was born in the Bichi local government area of Kano State. Her father is from Katsina state, while her mother is from Kano. She attended Gwamai Primary School in Badume Bichi, but dropped out of secondary to get married. However, the marriage failed a few years later after her first child.
Hauwa married the late Kannywood comedy legend Rabilu Musa, popularly known as Ibro, before they divorced.
She told 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE that after the divorce, she relocated to Kano and stayed with her mother. “While in Kano I got close to some of her friends from Katsina, who later introduced me to stage drama. And that was how my acting career began,” she said.
When she began her acting career her part crossed again with her ex-husband. Narrating how she felt acting alongside her ex-husband, Hauwa said: “After the divorce, we continue with our separate lives as artists with no any grudges attached. We met at several occasions or movie locations and carried a long till his death; May his soul rest in peace.”
The comedian said she got her stage name Ýar Auta when she was a kid, adding that name was given to her due to her small physique, and being the smallest in her class while in school.
“The character Yar Auta was created based on the name, ‘the last born’,” she said. “It was my personal creation and also the outlook has been my personal creation as well.
“The reason why I chose my unique stage outlook was to cover up for my popularity. This was as a result of a scenario I noticed with one of the female artists in Kannywood when her fans nearly suffocated her at an event.
“After that incident, I began to find a way of hiding my real face with something unique and it was in Nasarawa state, during a festival, that I got to see someone with the outlook which I later copied.
“Now I can go into public places without being recognised as Yar Auta. Not all my fans know my real face, and I feel safer that way.
“I have featured in various films that I have lost count on them, the most prominent are, Yan Uku Uku, Sakarkaru and Bita Zai-zai,” she added.
