Iconic Nigerian actor, Ali Nuhu and Kannywood movie director Falalu A. Dorayi have expressed anger over a statement by veteran Ladi Cima that she had never been paid more than N10,000 for acting in a Kannywood movie.
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Cima, who is one of the oldest female actresses in the industry made this statement while speaking with BBC Hausa. She said that had never been paid up to N20,000 for a movie role.
“Since I started acting [in Kannywood] up to now, I have never been paid fifty, twenty or thirty thousand naira. I’m usually paid between three to five thousand naira. In fact today, I went to a movie set where I was given only two thousand naira,” said the actress.
The statement sparked controversy within Kannywood as well as among audiences on social media. Moreso, some influential stakeholders in Kannywood have felt slighted by the actress claim and they have aired their disagreement.
Ali Nuhu, while responding to BBC Hausa about the issue, said her claim was a ‘hasty generalisation’ because even in a recent movie she worked with him, he had paid her N40,000.
The actor said her statement was unfair because although there could be producers who paid less than five thousand, it does not apply to all filmmakers.
“You know people can do what they like to artistes. Some people can be generous while others can be otherwise. So it’s important for people to differentiate those who have been kind to them from those who have not been,” explained Ali Nuhu.
Falau A. Dorayi, who is one of the biggest directors in Kannywood said he was surprised to hear what Ladi Chima said because since she started acting in his movies, he has never paid her less than N20,000. He added that sometimes she went home with N30,000 or N40,000.
“Just less than ten days ago, I worked with her in a movie for which I paid her N30,000,” said Dorayi.
While responding to the furious reactions her statements elicited in the industry, Ladi Cima, later on, told BBC Hausa said that people failed to understand that while there are movies in which she was paid two to three thousand, there were also producers who are generous to her for the sake of her age.
She said she had never negotiated what to be paid with any producer. She added that the industry’s heavyweights like Ali Nuhu, Falalu A. Dorayi and Hadiza Gabon have particularly been kind to her.
She said, “Ali Nuhu even visits me at home and he has done a lot for me.”
She also admitted that a popular actress in the industry, Hadiza Gabon had even gifted her three hundred thousand (N300,000) recently. “Even the house I currently live in was bought for me by some people in the industry,” she added.
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