Saturday 15 March 2014

X-rated picture with Muna Obiekwe: it was photoshopped, not in the film- Biola Ige


The media was set alight last week with a suspicious photo of Nollyywood actress, Biola Ige and actor, Muna Obiekwe seemingly smooching, with the actor kissing her nipple. Within minutes of the picture being posted, it went viral, almost like an orchestrated campaign against the beautiful actress who is just finding her feet again in the industry after a long absence, occasioned by battle with thyroid and eyes problem which took her to India where she eventually found cure.


Biola has said time and time again that there is a conspiracy against her and it seems they have concocted something this time, to scuttle her flourishing career but according to Biola, they couldn't be more wrong, as she is undisturbed by the picture. She talked with me on the matter and here is our conversation. Excerpt:

This picture about you and Muna Obiekwe smooching obscenely: is it a clip from a movie or what?

That picture is not part of the production I was involved in with Muna, and if people want to confirm they should  go and watch the movie. The name of the movie is 'Desperate Hawkers' .That movie came out two years ago, and at that time, I was still battling with the thyroid I had .It was a defect in my eyes .One of my eyes was bigger than the other .I will just like people to go and watch the movie and  let me know their opinions and what they think about the movie.


How did that picture come about because both of you were pictured smooching?

All I  know is that there was nothing like that, nobody in their right senses will do that in front of the cameras .I just want people to go and watch the movie 'Desperate Hawkers' and  if they see something like that in the movie, then they can judge me and label me anything they wish.


So, are you saying the picture is a product of photoshop?

Yes, that is what I think it is, because  what I know is that, I shot that movie two years ago, and I and Muna didn’t do anything like that. It must have been photoshopped.


What part did you play in the movie 'Desperate Hawkers'?

My character was that of a poor girl who grew up in the slum. She hawks for a living and had to make ends meet  by sleeping with men and then she finally got this rich man (Muna) sleeping with her and getting money from him in order to take care of her family. That is the role I played in the movie. As  an actress, I can  go all out  to play a role because that is what I do for a living. I just want people to understand that. If you are praying for a change in Nollywood , you need to take it to another level .Hollywood didn’t  get to where it is today if someone didn’t take a step towards change. This same set of people say Nigerian movies are crap and they see someone who is trying to do her job and they go all out to complain. The difference here, is the issue of nudity and people saying that this person was sucking my nipple .This is the truth about it they should go and watch the movie then they can come and judge me later.


Why do you think anyone will love to circulate such a thing? 

I am the kind of actress people tell I am not good at what I do but I believe in myself and I know that I am good. I interpret my roles the way others don’t . It is safe for me to say that my acting is not for the Nigerian market really, it is for   the people who are exposed in life and willing to accept change. I am very different. If the script says you should make love, I am ready to make it as real as possible.

In the number of years that I have been acting, a lot of my colleagues are not happy .Why? Just because you cannot do something does not mean another person cannot do it. Now, for this picture to have gotten out, I know it’s somebody, somewhere, trying to sabotage my image. They know that I have been out of the scene for some number of years, and they know that I am ready to come back on the scene. This is their own way of saying go back to where you are coming from, we don’t want you .It’s  like a  threat to whoever released this picture and I don’t care.


From what you are saying  , you are the kind of actress that can take up sex scenes….?

Of course, this is the art, I am an   actress, I am born to act. If it's   not in you, you can’t go all out to do it. Angelina Jolie cannot be an actress if the fire isn’t in her. The Nigerian mentality is hypocritical, we condemn Western values and still copy them. If you are ready to copy the Western world, why don’t you go all out? Why are you pretending to be an actress or an actor if you cannot go all out for your job? This is what you are being paid for, a way to make ends meet .Why can’t you   do anything for your job, why are we always pretending? I, Biola Ige, can do anything for the arts, for my job. If    anybody has another opinion about it, no problem, they should keep it to themselves .Opinions cannot pay my bills. the last time I checked, I cannot  put someone’s opinion into an ATM machine and it will turn into money that I will use to feed  myself and my family.


But the picture that is all over the internet- did you engage in the act?

I didn’t do it,  that is why I have been saying people need to go and see the movie. If you see that scene in the movie, call me and judge me and even do whatever you like when you see me. Don’t say anything until you watch the movie. They are making it look as if it’s a fresh movie that we just shot.


Even  though you claimed not to have done what the picture portrayed, can you do something similar to that in a movie?

Not something like somebody sucking my nipple, but I can definitely come out of the room cupping   my breasts in my hands and deliver   my lines and do my work and go in.

What you are saying is that you can do a bit of nudity without having sex on set?

Of course, I can. It’s my job. What I want people to understand  is  that acting is about impersonating somebody else’s character. In order to play that character you have to bear in mind that you are no longer yourself,   and you have to do the extraordinary in order to be able to bring the character to life. The problem we have in Nigeria is that once you do that, people will start saying you are wayward, forgetting the fact that this person is just showing you a picture of a non   existent  character. That is why I am not taking this whole picture thing too hard. I don’t even have any care for it. It's already out .What they are even doing now is to promote the movie for the producer.

0 comments:

Post a Comment