In an industry characterized by excessive luxury, coupled with the constant showoff the audience is greeted with on social media platforms by celebrities; it is almost impossible to tell an outsider that acting is not as lucrative as it is portrayed.
However, Veteran actress Bimbo Akintola took it upon herself to remove the impression that it’s all glitz and glamour in real life for her colleagues in the industry and herself making it clear that their real lives are a totally different picture from what we think we see.
In an interview with ‘Sunday Scoop’, the ‘Out of Bounds’ star duly noted that actors will continue to get less than what they they deserve unless the industry becomes structured and more organised.
“Until actors start getting what is really due to them, such as royalties, the industry cannot be robust. In Nigeria, when you shoot a film, you only get whatever fee is paid; you don’t get royalties from subsequent monies that the movie makes. If we truly want positive and meaningful change, the industry has to be properly regulated. The truth is that people are living from hand to mouth. Lagos is not an inexpensive place to live,” Bimbo Commented.
“By the time you deduct your rent, children’s school fees and other expenses, you would realise that the money you are making is nothing. That is why everybody is becoming producers; meanwhile, that shouldn’t be so. You cannot just say you are a producer without following the laid down procedures but there are no enabling laws,” she added.
Speaking on allegations that she is a snub, Akintola said, “The problem is that many people judge you without knowing you. If you do your findings, you would realise that the people that accuse me of being a snub have never even met me. Rather, they rely on hearsay or just form their opinions. You also should not judge me based on certain roles you’ve seen me act.”
“Whatever happens on screen ends on screen; it’s all make-believe. I am always original and I don’t try to be what I’m not. At this stage of my life, I don’t live my life to impress anybody; and I have never done that anyway,” she finished.
