My father strongly discouraged me from pursuing a career in acting or film making - Kunle Afolayan

Award-winning movie producer, Kunle Afolayan, has revealed how his late father, Adeyemi Afolayan, well known as Adelove, discouraged him and his siblings from entering the movie industry.

In a recent interview, Kunle, whose father was one of Nigeria’s early pioneers of filmmaking and who has three siblings working in Nollywood, said his father urged his brothers to pursue other jobs because filmmaking was not profitable at the time.

The talented filmmaker, however, said he was adamant about becoming a film producer because he identified a gap in the movie industry that needed to be filled.

The 48-year-old actor, when discussing his father, remarked, “there is no money, just go practice law”, his father said.

According to him, his father forbade them from pursuing careers in acting or filmmaking. Their father would ask them “do you want to run around as I run around?”

Kunle said because he didn’t want to become like “them”, he learnt those things and it helped him to organize the business aspect of what he does.

“I remember after he passed and then Nollywood came, I would see these films with beautiful stories then I would be comparing them to the film of my dad and Ogunde with the production quality, but how come the audio is bad, how come the makeup is lousy, how can we do this, and I said ok, I want to be a filmmaker, I never wanted to be an actor,” he noted.

He said he went to Tade Ogidan, who said he would call him when he has something. He also went to Tunde Kilani and he asked him who he was to say he wanted to make movie.

Kunle said Kilani told him “just because you father was a filmmaker doesn’t automatically make you one, you have to study it. Go to school and finish your studies,” he stated.

He said after his education, he was called to come for an audition for “Saworo Ide” in 1998. Even though he eventually played the part, he still wanted to direct movie.