Known to have broken boundaries as an actress and an entrepreneur, Nollywood sweetheart, Genevieve Nnaji, says that she is not done exploring frontiers. She recently cut her teeth as a producer with her debut flick, Road to Yesterday. In this interview with OVWE MEDEME, she talks about her first production, life as an actress, relationships and other issues.
HAT has the experience been like, transcending from an actress to a producer?
Obviously, it hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. When we see the final product, we will know if it has been worth the while.
What inspired, Road to Yesterday?
Road to Yesterday is a story that has been in my head for a few years. Its just about me wondering about the simple things in life; the thin line between life and death. Like if we are caught in certain situations, how would we handle it? How would anybody handle it? The story started growing in my head because that is how I come out with stories. I tried to have it written by two writers in the past, but nobody could get it because it’s complicated until I met Ishaya.
Just meeting him and getting to know his personality, I knew he would understand what was going on in my head. And I did tell him and he said he couldn’t understand how I came up with such a story. But he wrote it. I couldn’t have imagined anyone else doing it.
How challenging was the role you played?
It was very challenging. I played the role of Victoria, a lady who is in an estranged relationship and she had to fight. As a woman, it is her responsibility to fight to keep her marriage together. All of this happened on a road trip because they embarked on a journey to the village.
Just being in that little space with her husband, they are both confronted with answers and questions that they had to face. This forces them to go back in time to unearth where the problem started and the genesis of where they were and why they were where they were as a couple, considering they were only five years old in the marriage. Victoria had to undergo series of emotions.
Compared to other scripts, what stands Road to Yesterday out?
It is an actor’s movie. When I say it is an actor’s story, what I mean is, it is between you and the camera. And it is something I had been yearning for. I’ve been meaning to have it as an actor because there are certain things you need to do to challenge yourself to give an answer to certain questions.
Questions like, are you even as good? Are you even as great? Everybody needs to embrace challenges every now and then and this is one movie that does that for me. A similar movie in the past would have been Tango with Me. Movies like that force you to go deep down within you as a performing artiste to express that God-given talent.
What was your most challenging moment as a producer?
In the first week, it was challenging because I found myself involved both at the back end and in front of the camera. As a producer, I was counting numbers; I was looking out for cast and crew. As an actor, I was trying to deal with a new actor who is new to the industry and it was my job to make that person feel at home. To be honest, it was affecting my performance.
As an artiste, you must be in a different realm; a spiritual realm. I don’t pretend to be a character. I have to be that character. I can’t be Victoria if I’m handling Genevieve’s business. So my partner asked me to let her handle that part. I agreed and I had to step back and focus on that which was important, that which I was so excited to show the world. And so, when I got that out of the way, I knew what I needed to do and everybody else handled their business.
Is this a one off thing?
Of course not! TEN is the company that produced this. You don’t register a company if you don’t intend to do business. TEN stands for The Entertainment Network. It is my company which I run with my partner. This is our first production and it is a feature film. That shows we are not playing. It’s been an experience but we’ve learnt. And the thing is, when you learn, even when you thought you knew, you realise you didn’t know because at the end of the day, experience is the best teacher. You can’t wait to transfer what you’ve learnt to something else. So, the next project is going to be about implementing that which we have learnt.
You have been away from the screen for some years. Is that deliberate or the scripts just stopped coming?
It is not deliberate and I do get scripts. I get at least three scripts a week. And I read through. But, think about it, I started screening my scripts from 2005 after the ban. And that was when I realised I was giving too much and not getting enough. There was this habit that directors and producers especially relied on. I had to work on everything. It had to be good enough for me to be a part of it.
So when it’s not, I compromise. I get on set and I work on it. But I stopped doing that. You have to give me the kind of script that I want to be a part of. The past ten years have been hard. When you go back to the films that I’ve done, some of them I had to do because my fans have been missing me and I’m missing them too. I do it not because the job is right but because I had to compromise too. But I think I’m tired of compromising. Another thing I asked myself was, why aren’t they upping their game? If actors intend to be better performers, if directors intend to work with better equipments, why can’t the writers up their game in their scripting, in their writing, in their dialogue? Why aren’t we being more creative in our stories? You find out that when you tell people to move on to the next level, they tend to want to be more like the West. We are who we are and we tell our stories. That’s what makes Nollywood what it is – a unique industry.
So you can’t take away the uniqueness of who we are from the craft. So it was frustrating that I couldn’t find anything to be a part of. I actually thought it was the end but something happened. I thought to myself, why wait for someone to give me what I’m interested in when I am someone. So, I had to invest. If I feel it’s worthwhile, why can’t I invest in it? So I took up the challenge and now I’m doing the kind of production that I want to be a part of. At this stage in my life and in my career, I need to start to see the maturity in who I am because when they approach me with jobs, they don’t know that I’m not 25 anymore. It’s not about the money anymore.
But you do look 25
Thank you
Is there any beauty routine you follow?
There is none. For me, I don’t like stress. I only stress if I know I can make a difference. If there is a situation I can’t change, I let go. I try to surround myself with like minds, with people who can impact positively in my life. I like to associate with successful people. I think you are what you eat and what you surround yourself with. And also, I like to have peace of mind.
What has been the most stressful moment all your years as an actress?
I love acting so much that I don’t even stress it. It is very stressful if you are working with a bad actor.
A lot of things have been written about you. How do you take them?
Why do you write it? The truth is, I don’t pay attention to them.
What about the issue of the blogger who was detained for a story he wrote about you?
I don’t even know what you are talking about. Bad press can’t add to my life positively. And I mentally focus on the things that add positivity to my life. I push those kinds of stories aside. I don’t see it. I don’t read them; I focus on other things.
How is your fashion line doing?
Beautiful. The first collection was amazing. We are working on the second one. Unfortunately, it is being stalled by the movie.
People are curious. Are you hoping to start a family soon?
I do hope the kind of man that can handle someone like me comes along. I’m waiting for him to find me. I’m not searching though.
How would you describe someone like you?
I’m God fearing. I believe in karma, and that is what guides me. I’m a hard worker. I believe there is dignity in labour. I don’t believe in hand-me-downs. I like my family. My parents are still very much alive, thank God. I have seven siblings. Someone like me is pretty simple. What you see is what you get.
But simple is so rare that it becomes something alien in our present world. I am old school. I believe in my old values. But again, I also have doubts. Just the same way people expect me to be married but it’s not going to come to me. I am a woman. I believe I can be strong and I can still be vulnerable. So when that man finds me, not the other way round, we’ll work it out.
You talked about believing in karma. Does that mean you are a vengeful person?
I believe that what goes around comes around. So do unto others what you want them to do to you. I believe what you put out to the universe will come back to you.
