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Veteran Actor, TUNBOSUN ODUNSI Reveals
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How Playing Lead Role In OJO ALE Movie Helped
His face is unmistakable. He has been one of the most enduring personalities in the Yoruba movie industry. His name is Pastor Olatunbosun Odunsin, a veteran actor who has given so much to the growth of the Yoruba arm of the movie industry known as Nollywood. He has featured in over 200 movies and still counting. Pa Tunbosun recalls that his biggest break came in 1970 when he featured in the late renowned poet, writer and actor, Dr. Adebayo Faleti’s stage play, Idaamu Paadi Kailu. It was this epic drama that shot him into limelight and since then, there has been no turning back for him. Altogether, Pa Odunsi has given abpout 68 years of his life to acting. He started acting from way back when money and fame were not the motivation for becoming an actor. Even at his age (he’s well over 70) Pa Odunsi is still very vibrant, very active and his ability to interprete his role impeccably well remains impressive, as seen in his performance in the block buster movie, Ojo Ale. No doubt about it, age has not taken anything away from this accomplished actor’s creative abilities and mental capacity.
A week ago, at the premiere of the movie Ojo Ale, produced by UK based actress, Doyin Amodu, which featured lots of movie veterans, including Pa Odunsi who played lead role, City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) had a bried chat with the veteran actor and he shared with us his journey so far in the movie industry. Enjoy excerpts.
How do you feel, sir, being part of this movie project that has brought together so many veterans who have given a great part of their lives to the movie industry?
To be honest with you, we cannot fully express the depth of our joy for what Doyin Amodu, the producer of the movie is doing right now. She is the very first to have taken this bold and laudable step. Many of us veterans had not seen each other in 30 or even forty years ago, until she brought us together with this movie called Ojo Ale. So we are all so happy, seeing each other again. Seriously, she has done what nobody else hs thought of doing. To have thought of bringing veterans together at this crucial time, we say kudos to Doyin Amodu.
You played lead role in the movie, what impact did this have on you?
Oh, well, it is a positive impact. To begin with, many people had forgotten about me and several others. Many of the producers of today had forgotten about us the veterans, so what this movie, Ojo Ale, will do, and I’m sure it has done already, is thast it will bring back many of us onto the scene again. It will revive our careers because now, a lot of people, especially producers, will see that we are still very active and can still perform well if given the opportunity. So, for me, what this opportunity Doyin has given me will do is that it will bring many of us, including me, back into the mainstream of the movie industry.
If you look back, sir, how many years would you say you have been in the industry?
Well, maybe you will help me to calculate it, 1956 to now is how many years?
That will be around 68 years, sir.
68? So, you can see it’s been a long while. We thank God for everything.
During your time when you started acting, you didn’t have the benefit of numerous television stations, you didn’t have sponsorship and neither did you have the social media like we do today. How challenging were those days for you, sir?
Yo see, back then the joy of being an actor superceded money. We were not even thinking of money, what we were only thinking about was how to make sure we got the messages of our play across to the people. In fact, many of us were outcasts in our families. They did not give us their blesings to go into acting. It was after many of us started getting popular and we were making little impact and some of us were now going to the university, that was when they started giving us some respect. Now that money has started coming into the theater, I think we should really thank those who are now thinking that they should take care of us the veterans, looking at the welfare of the old people. We are really happy. There are some who have the resources but have never thought of doing something like this. But now, somebody has brought us all together, they even make us to laugh and be happy all the time, it is really worth praising them for. Anybody who gives his or her resources to care for the aged people, all we can do is pray for them and the Lord will continue to replenish their purse and prosper them in Jesus name.
How fulfilled do you feel today as a respected and accomplished actor? Do you even have regrets sometimes that you went into acting?
I just thank God for everything. I feel satisfied for the career that I have chosen. People choose their own different career paths, like being a doctor, an engineer, a politician, or whatever, but I chose to be an actor and I’m very satisfied with it. I thank God for giving me the priviledge, for giving ke the grace to be alive today when the theater is now going into another realm.
Which movie or drama brought you into limelight, sir?
(Smiles) Idamu Paadi mi kailu, written by late Pa (Dr.) Adebayo Faleti in 1970.
So, did you get your theater name from that movie? Which name do people usually call you?
Ah, the names are plenty. Some people call me Paadi. Some will call me Inspector Adegboye. Some will call me Amoye and others will call me Baba Oba and so on and so forth. People just pick the one they remember.
Some of your movies that I remember are those ones you played emotional roles that depict a lot of sufferings, a lot of torture. And the way you project the pain often brings tears to the eyes of the people watching the movies. You don’t even go through any difficulty to bring the tears out and people will be moved. How do you achieve this so easily?
I think that has to do with the way we were trained. For example, a surgeon knows what to do to make a patient recover from a condition that could take his life. It’s in the same vein that we were trained to take a role and interpret properly. The first thing is to get into that character before I get onto the stage. And that’s why you see the emotions coming so effortlessly.
