Actress Bimbo Akintola, with over a decade of experience in Nollywood, has an extensive career in both Yoruba- and English-language films. In a recent interview with The Sun, the beloved and immensely talented actress discussed why some stars shy away from appearing in Yoruba films. According to Bimbo Akintola, this is a notable trend in the industry.
Speaking first about what she’s proud of in Nollywood as a whole, Bimbo Akintola said:
BIMBO AKINTOLA: I love the fact that we have gained, not just international fame, but we have a lot of international bodies within Nigeria who are willing to work with us; who want to be part of us. I think now it’s good. The sort of improvement that we see now is because they have invested heavily in the industry, so we have grown technically. But acting-wise, I feel we used to have more true actors than we have now; not that there are no talents now, we still have many talents in the industry. Look at those who won the AMVCA Awards; they are amazing. I have worked with them, and it’s always been amazing.
Then, as someone who has acted in both English and Yoruba movies, Bimbo Akintola was asked why she thinks people run away from acting Yoruba movies, to which she said:
BIMBO AKINTOLA: They run because the pay is lower than that of the English genre, and it’s very annoying because we have a lot of massive talents there who deserve to be paid what they are worth.
Changes start from those in the industry. They should imbibe the culture of paying talents right so that the disparity between the English and Yoruba actors doesn’t become the usual conversation because it offends me so much. If you look at the Yoruba film industry, I believe that they are more talented and they are rich in content, so the actors deserve good pay too. Nobody deserves to die in penury.
Wow! I didn’t know that what they pay actors in the Yoruba movie industry is this bad in comparison to what they pay for the English speaking movies. What do you think about what Bimbo Akintola had to say?