Veteran actor and filmmaker Muka Ray has opened up on his early entry into the Nigerian film industry, tracing his journey from being one of the first child actors to joining the pioneering generation that birthed the home video era after the death of his father.

“I started my career as a kid actor. I’m among the first set of kid actors in celluloid films, then. I played Adelove’s son in ‘Taxi Driver.’ I also acted in ‘Kadara’ and ‘Jayeisimi.’ But when my dad passed, I can proudly say that I was part of the first set of young actors to produce home videos,” he said.

Ray explained that home video production was unknown during his father’s lifetime, noting that the late Alade Aromire played a crucial role in changing the narrative by embracing video technology.

“There were no home videos during my dad’s time. I looked up to the late Alade Aromire then. He was the first to discover that one could shoot on video and be projected on a big screen. That’s when we started showing our films across,” he added.

Reflecting on the modest beginnings of video filmmaking in Nigeria, Ray disclosed that his first movie, ‘Dukia,’ was shot in 1989, barely months after his father’s death.

“My first movie was shot in 1989. My dad died in April 1989, and my film was shot in December 1989. It was titled ‘Dukia.’ Shooting a movie then cost just N2,500. It wasn’t difficult because we shot a film in just one day,” he recalled.