Rayda Jacobs, well-known as a writer and now too as an actress, spoke to Zinaid Meeran of the Mail & Guardian about her recent evolution into a new career. Her book Confessions of a Gambler is now a film; it opened at cinemas on 4 April. (We’ve linked to the trailer below – take a look.)
Jacobs herself also wrote a piece for the same paper about the experience of making a movie – the trials, tribulations, and temptations!
That’s two spots on this important literary character for the price of one. A bargain indeed:
I ring the bell to Rayda Jacobs’s modest suburban home. Stationed on the verandah is Jacobs’s mastiff. He is twice as big as I am so I am certain I will be eaten before I get to the front door, but the giant puppy tries to hide behind a thin pillar and peeps shyly out at me. They say dogs are like their owners and Jacobs turns out to be a blend of kindly humanitarian and plucky street fighter.
Jacobs returned to South Africa after a 27-year sojourn in Canada. “I was disturbed to find a number of Muslim writers claiming that Islam oppresses women, with husbands forcing their wives into the veil,” she says.
She saw this as misrepresentation that feeds into the broad perception of Muslim women as subjugated and pliant. Her anger at this strengthened her resolve to change the media image of Muslim women.
–
The first morning of filming arrived. As Jack applied my make-up in a makeshift tent on a field in Athlone at 6am, I realised what I had taken on. I knew by this time what some people thought about my many roles. But I had lived with Abeeda for three years at this point. How could I leave her in the hands of another actress, or another director? It wasn’t that I thought no one else could do it. But I was that woman who struggled constantly between God’s love and temptation. She was in my blood. Rayda wanted on the set!
I got used to my name constantly being called and people following me around, even to the toilet, waiting with a crackling walkie-talkie outside the door. I was nervous as I took my place. It was my debut in front of the camera.
Action!
Book Details
EAN: 9780795701603
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