![NG-[A_BA[COMP_TABL_ALLC]:TABLETS_160x600](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vfYvM3czWoy2Sr6bpfP5BnJ-SFFx1W4RJEJeFmKPiNOQKMb87RShoFd8Rp2Fa7_2bq0SXac70RZh8nO5_XpcHuubV__nfVbTu5VsQaCoaTbgq4fHZWsYN_7KzjjE6e2u77c2XcqFTSQkvsW7wMuliRvCNpCHYxH91WWj9V9SNuuciTmUiIaQ=s0-d)
When star actress, Omoni Oboli, set out to produce her first movie, she probably did not expect to achieve the kind of success that it recorded at the box office. But, it did. And till date, the film titled, ‘Being Mrs, Elliot’, is regarded as one of a few debuting movies to hit it big in the cinemas across Nigeria.
Oboli takes much of the credit for the film’s success for obvious reasons. She wrote the script, though it took a long time to decide it would be suitable for a full-blown shoot. She acted the lead role (Mrs. Elliot), directed the movie and produced it.
But before anyone would begin to wonder if she could not find enough capable hands to play those roles, the actress explains, in an interview with E-PUNCH, why she chose to do it herself.
She says, “I wrote the script years before we shot the movie. I am a writer, and I love writing. I also like certain stories to be made into film. That’s why I wrote the movie. I’m an actress and I played the roles because I can deliver those roles and make those characters come alive in the movies. That is why I acted it.
“Acting is my first love and my number one passion. That is the essence of me producing, writing and directing: to see myself in the kind of movies I like. So I had to act in them. I called other actors to play the other roles that I felt they could deliver as well, and probably better than I can in the roles that I gave them. I don’t know if I could have played the role Lepacious Bose played, for instance.”
Unlike most Nollywood filmmakers, the actress admits that she made a lot of money from ‘Being Mrs. Elliot’. “Yes, I did. Thank God! That is what careful planning and favour gives you. Many movies make money these days in Nollywood. Thank God for the cinemas, the online video on demand (VOD) channels and many other media for our movies to be shown,” she says.
Oboli’s admission, no doubt, runs contrary to the general notion that filmmakers are longer earning much from their works – certainly not enough to pay up debts incurred during production, at least. It also contradicts claims that Nollywood practitioners are gradually becoming impoverished and helpless – the same reason why some of them now run after politicians for pecuniary gains.
She believes that Nollywood is greatly improved, far beyond the expectation of Nigerians and it is full of possibilities. Also, she thinks the future of the industry is even brighter than most Nigerians have ever imagined.
The actress notes that every actor or director worth his salt ought to be guided by a set of personal rules. In her case, the watchword has always been excellence.
“My movies must be easy to watch in the sense that the sound and picture quality must be of high standards. The storyline and execution must be top notch, and audience should watch the movies without coming out feeling like someone had stolen two hours of their time, or someone insulted their intelligence with poor execution. I want to deliver entertainment first, because no one goes to the cinemas to watch movies that are instruction classes. They pay for entertainment, and then you slip into the storyline life’s lessons that you want them to take back home and think about,” she says.
Although Omoni had always wanted to become an actress, while growing up as a child in Aladja, Delta State, she knew back then that it would only be a hobby, certainly not a career. But, she had to think deeply about it and eventually changed her mind after Kenneth Nnebue’s ‘Living in Bondage’ opened up a door of opportunity to those eager to take up acting as a career.
She says, “Thank God that some people took the initiative to start something with ‘Living in Bondage’, I could then pursue a career of my dreams as an actress. My parents didn’t mind my acting at all, but they wanted me to complete my education. I concurred with them because I felt that the industry would always be there but my education would be harder to go back to if I dropped out.”
The actress is happily married with three sons and she is willing to encourage them to be whatever they want to be in life, including taking up careers in Nollywood.
“We have broadened their knowledge so that when it comes to making those life defining career decisions they would make the right ones. One of them already shows a lot of interest in acting and has won many awards to that effect, but we’re still watching. We don’t want to pressure them now. They’re still being educated and nurtured, and God willing, they’ll be children of God first, and that would give my husband and I more joy than whatever career path they will choose in the future. They are after all a heritage from God,” she says.
0 comments:
Post a Comment