Nollywood is in trouble- Kanayo O Kanayo
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Nollywood is in trouble’
By Adeola Balogun
Despite his popularity, he has not been romantically linked with any actress
in the movie industry and thus has not been near scandals that have become
very common in the acting world.
When Spectacles met with the handsome actor, he said he had consciously made
efforts to keep out of trouble by closing his eyes to seemingly irresistible
attractions that abound in the make-believe world, especially the daughters
of eve who might want to throw themselves at him in the guise of being his
admirers.
“If you ask me whether I make conscious effort to avoid scandal, I will say
yes; because most of us are seen as role models. And as a role model, you
must stay out of trouble. It is not as if your life is going to be
trouble-free entirely, but you must try as much as possible to see that a
large percentage of the life you live is that which people can adopt.
“When you grant interviews and tell people that you don’t smoke or drink,
most people who watch you will say I want to be like this guy who stays off
the stuff and he is able to deliver his line so brilliantly. This in the
long run contributes to societal growth and some of us have decided to
discipline ourselves. We shy away from things we would have done under
another circumstance,” he said.
Does that mean he is never tempted when he mingles with actresses who may
want to seize the opportunity of the closeness on set to flaunt themselves,
and some female fans who might want to hang around him?
KOK said, “Of course, why wouldn’t I? Am I not operating on the same planet?
I am a man and have blood running in my veins. I have a liver too. The thing
is that you try to suppress your feelings, you try to be yourself and try to
be moderate in whatever you do. I am not a saint, but I do things with great
moderation.
“I manage my female fans like their male counterparts. A fan is a fan, as
far as I am concerned. The female fans are not given any exceptional
treatment. You don’t return the call of a fan or the text, you avoid undue
intimacy.”
As an actor who stayed very long in the industry before he got married, why
didn’t he get someone among his female colleagues as wife, Spectacles asked
KOK.
“I didn’t have any problem marrying an actress. Maybe why I didn’t marry a
colleague was because of the problem of the two of us being on location at
the same time outside of home. Who takes care of the kids when I am in Enugu
and she is in Onitsha? Other than that, nothing would have stopped me from
marrying a colleague.”
He, however, admits that before settling down for marriage, he had a lot of
dates.
“Of course it is a natural process to have dated many women before marriage.
It is not necessary that the lady you first dated is the one you marry.
There is always time to settle down with whom you will be comfortable.
“And if I didn’t get married when I did, it would have been a great mistake
in the sense that you got a lot of friends and it would have become
difficult to choose who to spend your life with.”
Asked to react to insinuations that the movie world is a haven for loose
characters, KOK rose stoutly in the industry’s defence.
“Who says? That somebody got drowned, should that make us stop swimming?
That some people are seen to be loose in the movie industry does not mean
people should generalise. Whatever is found in the movie industry is also
found in other disciplines. It is just like when you are talking about
womanising, don’t we see doctors sleeping with their patients and nurses? We
have MDs sleeping with their secretaries. It is just that we are in the
glare of the public where everything we do is seen. For me, I have always
been a conservative glamour person in the movie world. Nothing will make me
change the orientation that I had while growing up”.
As a very busy actor who has to stay away from home much of the time, how
does KOK earn the trust of his wife and his family, Spectacles asked.
“I wouldn’t know, but I know that you must keep in touch with your home if
you are on location. You talk to your wife, your kids, provide for them,
send them things, money, and reassure them of your affection. It is now left
for them to feel the way they want to feel about you. You can’t stop a woman
from thinking that her man is having an affair while outside, it’s a feeling
you can’t stop, it is natural.”
It is a fact that KOK has become synonymous with tough roles in movies. Not
even a few agree that he has become a specialist in playing important roles
in ritual scenes. Spectacles therefore asked him whether he was in a way
acting out his natural character or inclination to be fetish.
He answered, “It is a function of being able to act roles excellently. You
don’t choose roles, but maybe people believe that you can always act it
since they see you act similar roles well. And it is difficult to turn down
offers. It is about flexibility and good performance in interpreting roles.
If you play a role well, people will acknowledge you. You play the role as
if your life depends on it, that’s it.”
KOK is not happy with the state of affairs in the movie world and he is not
keeping quiet about that. According to him, it is unhealthy for those in the
entertainment sector not to have the camaraderie that should characterise
the lives of practitioners.
“it is a very bad culture creeping into Nollywood. I don’t know where it is
coming from, but I believe that if it is not checked, it could lead to the
early death of a whole lot of things. You expect your colleagues to be part
of the process of celebrating you; but you find jealousy, acrimony and
backbiting. People are just petty.
“Apart from this, Nollywood is in trouble. For those who are outside, they
see things as rosy, but we know that things are not the way they should be.
I am talking from the bottom of my heart and from my practical experience.
You have a situation where a producer who paid you N500,000 five years ago
comes to you today and wants to pay N250,000, it is very worrisome.”
Another pain in KOK’s heart is the total take-over of the industry by those
who think they have the money. According to him, that has become the bane of
the industry, though he would not put the entire blame at the doorstep of
the marketers and producers who appear to do everything in the name of
protecting their investment.
“It is a problem of trust. I must be honest with you, when we started, a lot
of marketers had confidence in creating opportunity for practitioners. But
we found out that a lot of fraudsters, dishonest people came on board and
defrauded the marketers, who were not coming to location with us. They lost
their money and that is the genesis of the incursion of marketers, and later
they started directing and producing.
“There is nothing wrong for sponsors to be where the film is being shot, but
the terrible thing is trying to influence how things are done. Some even go
to the extent of giving titles to scripts, which sometimes are ridiculous.”
Having attained his present status, and despite his busy schedule, why did
the popular actor go back to school where he is currently pursuing a degree
in Law? Is it because of a feeling of being unfulfilled?
“In the first place, it is to improve myself and to become an important
personality in the society. I hope that at the end of the day, I will be
able to help those who need help to get justice.
“Apart from that, before I obtained my degree in Philosophy and a diploma in
Mass Communication, I had really wanted to read Law and I did everything to
do that, but things just didn’t work out. I must confess that I put a lot
into it. But now that it has become a reality, I am facing it seriously.”
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