Olaide Bakare – Okunfulire popularly called Hajia is one of the few cross-over actresses, having acted both in Yoruba and English movies. In this exclusive interview with AJIBADE ALABI, Laide ispeak on what makes her different from her contemporaries and so many issues.
How did you get into acting?
Immediately after my secondary school education, I made some contacts with some actors in my father’s hotel. I was at our hotel because we had on planned a surprise birthday party? for my father in that hotel; on getting there I was fortunate to meet some superstars at that party.
Who were the superstars at that time?
They include Pejü Ogunmola, Suaday Omobolanle Aluwe),Yomi Ogunmola, Lere Paimo (Eda) and a host of others. Among my family present at? the party I seemed to be the friendliest. I interacted with those actors and actresses present in my father’s party and they told me I will be good for the camera. Prior to that my dad usually rented out cameras to people for different occasions such as parties and movie shooting.
One of the actors told me, ‘this is one of the cameras we usually shoot movies with’.? I got fascinated and began to think that, if I join these people, I would be able to shoot my own movies. My parents however made me realise that I had to study. I gained admission into the University of Ibadan to study Theatre Arts as my first degree and subsequently the University of Lagos to study History and Strategic Studies for my second degree.? All through my university days I was acting. My first movie was titled ‘Adeyemi’. It has been a good experience for me and I am happy for what I have achieved so far.
How has the journey been since you started?
I have been acting for over a decade now. For me, it has been so enlightening, fun and worth the while. Acting has given me the opportunity to see beyond my environment. I have met a lot of people and I have been privileged to travel to a lot of places. As I said earlier, I have been acting right from secondary school. Having come this far, I believe that Iam doing what God has ordained me to do and Iam very grateful to.? Him that I’m appreciated for doing it well.
How would you describe your family?
Well, I hail from Ibadan, Oyo State.? I was born and bred in Lagos and I have lived all my life in Lagos. My father is a philanthropist, he is industrious and rich. He really encouraged me in a lot of ways. I am the only one among my siblings that loves acting but I’m not the only one in the entertainment industry.
Who else in your family is involved in the industry?
My younger brother, Olumide aka, AKl is a music director. So, I think art runs in the family. Growing up was a lot of fun for me. There are six of us; five girls and a boy.
He must be very spoilt then?
Oh, yes. My mother is also very simple, we relate as friends because we are mostly ladies in the house. My Dad is not a very strict person that would want you to sit at home from morning till evening. After our secondary education, my dad gave us opportunity to mingle and go out. We had to process admissions into higher institutions ourselves.
In other words, your father didn’t want a situation where you got favours because of his name?
Yes.
Having studied Theatre Arts in school, one would have expected you to further your studies in that line. Why did you opt for History and Strategic Studies in your second degree?
(Cuts in)I want to do some other things which I don’t want to talk about now.
Which was the first movie you produced?
My first major-movie was in 1999/2000 and it was titled Ewe Oju Omi. It was an adaptation of Restless Son of Locust’, a play by Professor Femi Osofisan of the University of Ibadan. He was one of my lecturers.? While I was in school I approached him, though I had done some other stage plays which include Yemoja, Lanke Omu, and The Sisters by Dr. Ahmed Yerima, Restless Son of locust Trials of Brother Jero and a host of others. The movie raises a lot of emotions about when children of opponents fall in love. For instance, you can imagine Governor Fashola’s daughter and one other Governor’s son in love and because of their father’s position, a lot of things happen around them. I loved the story, so we translated it to Yoruba.
How was it translating the play, wouldn’t it lose its substance during translation?
Not at all. I have a colleague; based in the United Kingddom, he’s DemolaAremu.
While I was still an undergraduate, he was doing his Masters so he was the one who translated the play? into Yoruba. Professor Osofisan was so happy and commended us as good students. I financed and produced the movie with my Dad’s support. Ewe oju omi was released and marketed by Corporate Pictures, Which was a big break for me because quite a? lot of ladies were in the industry and they didn’t have that courage to produce a movie. So, that gave them a-sort of inspiration to begin to think that if Laide could do this at an early stage, it means they could too. I am always happy when I look back and see many producers telling me that my movie was an eye-opener for them. I sort of woke them up from their slumber. Afterwards, I produced 11.45, Adun Ewuro, Olatokunbo, Oladoja, Ijo Ya, Omo Meji and of recent Demilade. I still have Omolara and? I leke coming.
Have you at any point thought about being a cross-over artiste?
Oh, yes, I feature in English soap operas and I have even produced one of my own. The reason I feature more in Yoruba movies is because producers in the Yoruba movies tend to like me more. However, if people from other genres of Nollywood call me, I won’t hesitate to answer their call.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I draw my inspiration from things that are happening around me, and? the society at large. You know, Nigeria is so big and with diverse cultures. So my environment inspires me a great deal.
You are also a wife and mother. How do you cope with the home front and the demands as an actress?
By God’ grace, I have a very wonderful husband, Olumide Okunfulire. So, a lot of people call me Laide Bakare? (a short form of my husband’s name). He’s very understanding and knows what I do. He’s exposed and knows a lot about Hollywood and Nollywood as a whole.
Doesn’t he feel uneasy when you do intimate roles?
He understands the trade and knows that it’s not a big deal. It’s part of the job.
Can you recall any embarrassing moment you’ve had?
The only thing I can remember now is that people, who have seen me only on screen and thought was tall, usually exclaim, “Oh, so you are this short! when they seen me in person.? (chuckles).
People have this notion that there are caucuses in the Yoruba movie industry, mainly Odunfa caucus. Does this help the industry?
For one I’m not in any caucus and never have been in one. You see, this is where education comes to play. It orientates and upgrades you, so that you won’t have a narrow and shallow thinking. You don’t have to belong to a particular group to be successful. Some people train under another person because they cannot afford to go to school; which is still okay to me. After all, it’s theatre. If you cannot acquire the knowledge formally, you can train for it.
Piracy is one thing that has’ eaten deep into the industry.Do you think it can be curbed?
It is affecting the industry so badly.? It is really unfortunate? that the issue of piracy has been neglected in Nigeria, that for me is the reason why the menace has lingered for this long.? Nigeria has lots of people who know about theatre and know what is going on around the world, yet piracy cannot be minimized. The practitioners that move round to curb it are often battered or harmed when they get to Alaba where these people are. I think it is government that can help solve the problem. We need lawmakers to sponsor a bill that regards piracy as a criminal offence punishable under the law.?
It is difficult to convince people not to buy pirated movies because they are usually cheaper. When you can buy 10 movies for N250, why would you buy just one for the same price? However, people need to be sensitised on the need to buy original copies of movies. Maybe we need prayers or other forms of intervention like a miracle, I don’t know. One way or the other, it seems like nothing can be done for now until that bill is passed.
Which of your films would you say made you most popular?
Honestly, I don’t know because I have done a whole lot. When I started out, it didn’t really dawn on me that I was starting a career. It was like a part-time thing. I just felt that I was through with secondary school at that time and didn’t have to wake up at 8am and come back at 4pm. I wasn’t doing anything, so I just felt like having a part-time job.
However, I think Ojo Eye by Rotimi Makinde was one film that made me popular and I actually won an award, THEMA Awards’ Best Upcoming Actress since then. I have won a number of awards such as The Afro Hollywood Award as well as that of City People.
What career choice did you have in mind back then?
Well, I have always liked the entertainment industry and television as well. Perhaps, I would have been a reporter. You know, my dad used to travel a lot and when I watched-television and reporters from various parts of the country like Abuja and Port Harcourt, I was fascinated. I wanted to be a television reporter, moving from one place to the other and meeting the President to interview him.
At what point did you have the conviction that acting was going to be your career?
Believe it or not, I will say as recent as five years ago. While I was in school; my parents were taking care of my welfare, even if I still got some money from the entertainment industry. I still felt something was missing; that I had to acquire education before I could decide on what to do. It wasn’t until after all these that I decided to become an actress.
Why is it that most people think that with the acting profession, there is no need to go to school to acquire education?
If you ask me, I think things are really changing. Gone are those days when you had hoodlums and riff-raffs in the industry. That has become a thing of the past. I can tell you now that in the Yoruba genre of movie making in Nigeria, I can boldly say that there are more graduates in the profession, even the new ones that are just coming up are either in school or aspiring to go to school .Maybe there were some other times when people that were supposed to be in marketing Akara Or Garri were in the industry Maybe we just have one or two people in that category that made it to the top. These days, the least you will see is someone with an OND who still has plans to go back for further studies. I think we shouldn’t limit it to actors and actresses alone. Often, you go to a bank and you are disappointed by a banker who cannot express himself. So, I think it’s everywhere and not peculiar to the movie industry
Some actresses have alleged that they are often sexually harassed in a bid to get roles. Is that true?
I think it’s really annoying when some ladies say that they have been sexually harassed. I don’t believe it happens and even if it does, I believe such victims created the atmosphere for it to happen.? So, why would they want to blame the men for doing that to them when they called for it? As an actress, you shouldn’t create the atmosphere to be harassed. Your carriage and comportment matters a lot. Men are not stupid and they know those that they will approach for such nonsense. This is not peculiar to the movie industry alone. You cannot tell me it does not happen in your own profession too. Personally I? have never experienced it, I am not dismissing it but most of them are mere allegations. Let somebody boldly come out and mention people who have harassed her and let us act on it.
Ladies coming into the industry should be very careful so that they won’t be prey for sexual harassment. If you want to go for an audition, you shouldn’t just walk around in order to make an impression. Do not hang around after the audition. If your services are needed you will be called. It is just so easy when a lady comes to a location and anxiety is written all over her face; that she just wants to act and won’t mind if she is asked to compromise. We even have a lot of responsible men in the industry and some ladies actually throw themselves at them.
Do you have any role models in the industry?
I respect my senior colleagues and because they are too many, I don’t have one particular person that I will say ‘I have to be like this person’. You know a particular actor may act well but does not have a good facial look. You may be so beautiful, yet your acting is very poor, so it depends. For me, I really respect those that have been there before me and I don’t want to mention names, because I don’t want to feel that that person is doing so much and that’s my limit.? Until we have actors like Denzel Washington, that’s when I will know that we have really achieved a lot.
How would you describe yourself?
I am just me. At times, I find it difficult to describe myself because I don’t trust myself and don’t know what next I want to do. I relate with life the way it comes and take what it gives me. I just respond to it in my own way.
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