In another world, and under different circumstances, Dolly Unachukwu
may well rank as a superstar, with millions of dollars in her bank account in addition to a life of thrills and
frills, but in our own world and circumstances she can at best be described as another popular Nigerian actress,
who has seen it all, been there and done that. Her pioneering role in the Nigerian movie industry is legendary,
having appeared in dozens of movies ranging from the highly controversial Glamour Girls, to Full Moon, Final Decision
and Deadly Affair.
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Uche Nworah
and Dolly Unachukwu at the interview
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Dolly suddenly disappeared from the Nollywood
scene to the surprise of her many fans; I caught up with her recently in London for a chat on her life, future plans and her views on the Nigerian movie industry
Uche
Nworah: Good to see you Dolly, How have you
been?
Dolly
Unachukwu: Very well (laughter)
Uche
Nworah: Your fans would like to know where
you have been ‘hiding’, all these while.
Dolly
Unachukwu: (Laughter) Hiding? I have not
been hiding O! well, let’s say that for the past 5 years I have been living in London, I can’t believe its 5 years now, time flies.
Uche
Nworah: As an A List actress with high society
profile, Nigerians were surprised that you suddenly disappeared from the public eye, what really caused you to
leave?
Dolly
Unachukwu: I wouldn’t say that I suddenly
disappeared, I got married and I had to join my husband in the UK, my fans knew I was living, I am sure they all
wish me well.
Uche
Nworah: We all know how different London
is, in terms of the social and family life compared to what its like back in Nigeria, do you miss Nigeria?
Dolly
Unachukwu: You can say that again, I miss
Nigeria a lot, remember that I grew up in Nigeria, all my friends and some of my family are in Nigeria and I miss them all.
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Dolly Unachukwu
and daughter, Nneoma
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Uche
Nworah: So, do you have any immediate plans
of relocating back to Nigeria?
Dolly
Unachukwu: I am not sure about relocating,
but I am sure that I will be shuttling, I am quite settled here now with my family so such decisions are a bit
difficult to make
Uche
Nworah: So what’s been keeping you busy in
London?
Dolly
Unachukwu: Well, a lot really. Outside looking
after my family, I am what you will call a career student (laughter), I am always studying one thing or the other,
at the moment I am at UEL (The University of East London) studying films and directing. This is going quite okay.
Uche
Nworah: So in that sense, you are hoping
to come back to the profession that
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gave you fame and ‘fortune’
Dolly
Unachukwu: (laughter), fortune ke?
I don’t know of any Nigerian actress or actor that has made a fortune from acting, very sad indeed compared to
our peers in Europe and America.
Definitely my heart is still in the Nigerian movie industry, I believe that I still have a lot to offer.
Uche
Nworah: So how would you assess the Nigerian
movie industry today?
Dolly
Unachukwu: I am quite impressed with
the developments so far, it’s good to see that they are moving forward and unfortunately backwards sometimes, I
am happy to see all the young actors and actresses coming through. I am really proud of them. I must also commend
the Nigerian society who are now able to separate the characters portrayed in the movies from the real personalities
portraying the characters, it wasn’t like that in the beginning, as the stigma of a villain played in a movie did
get transported into the real life of the actor or actress.
Uche
Nworah: So do you still keep in touch with
Nollywood actors and actresses as well as the other players in the industry?
Dolly
Unachukwu: Yes, but only with a few
of them, whenever they come into town (London),
we catch up on the phone or we meet depending on our schedules.
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Dolly Unachukwu
and daughter, Nneoma
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Uche
Nworah: From the lot, Which Nollywood actor
or actress has particularly impressed you by the quality of the acting they bring across to the fans?
Dolly
Unachukwu: No one actor or actress
in particular as they have all been doing both good and bad work, any good actor should be selective in the work
he or she does, it shouldn’t just be for the money, as low quality movies can bring your image down, there is a
danger for the fans to eventually get bored, fans are tired of seeing the same faces always, playing either a nun,
doctor, businessman etc. This over exposure is not good for them, also this practice of shooting many movies using
one set, and the same set of actors is abominable, the fans deserve better for the money they spend buying the
films, this ‘recycling’ won’t work in the developed countries.
Uche
Nworah: From your experience, is it possible
for actors and actresses to survive solely on acting in Nigeria?
Dolly
Unachukwu: In our days, it was possible to
survive on our professional fees, appearing in 1 movie in 2 or 3 months was quite the norm then, and one could
fairly survive on that, I remember that as far back as 1986, our fees was 150 Naira and we still survived on that,
it is quite a shame that Nigerian actors and actresses command hire fees today,
but still they ‘prostitute’ in several movies, as a result the shelf life of their movies has greatly reduced,
and also their marketability, some of them now though popular are no longer bankable.
Uche
Nworah: What should Nigerians expect from
you in the near future?
Dolly
Unachukwu: By the grace of God, I have plans
of coming
to Nigeria this year, I am currently shooting a project (a film), and this
is actually my first movie directing effort. I am really excited about the whole experience, it is a romantic movie
full of betrayals, you can bet it has nothing to do with juju, this is pure drama, and I am depending on the actors
and actresses to deliver the message. Saint Obi is also in the movie alongside other London based actors and actresses.
Uche
Nworah: As a pioneer and veteran
of the Nigerian movie industry, what advice do you have for the up and coming actors?
Dolly
Unachukwu: They should work on their God
given talent first and then try and train to understand the business, they should also remain focused. It is much
easier to make it in Nigeria as an actor or actress; of course they should go to the right places
and hang out with the right crowd. Hard work is also part of the game, they shouldn’t get tired of auditions even
if they are not landing the parts, they should try harder, and eventually the producers and financiers will take
notice.
Uche
Nworah: I am sure you must have been expecting
this question, what exactly happened between you and Regina Askia, what was the ‘beef’ about?
Dolly
Unachukwu: I think whatever may have happened
is all in the past now, both of us have since moved on, at the end of the day we are friends, we talk on the phone
every now and then and I wish her well.
Uche
Nworah: Your fans will like to know a little
about the ‘mystery’ man that took you out of Nigeria
Dolly
Unachukwu: (laughter) please lets leave my
husband out of this, he is a very quite person, and moreover I wouldn’t want to start calling names before I turn
to Jennifer Lopez (laughter)
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Dolly Unachukwu
making a point at the interview
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Uche
Nworah: So what about the other special man
in your life?
Dolly
Unachukwu: The other special man in my life
is Odera, my 12 year old son; he is an angel, a miracle. He loves football so hopefully he will grow up to play
for Arsenal and buy us a bigger house (laughter).
Uche
Nworah: So what is motherhood like?
Dolly
Unachukwu: Brilliant, I must say though that
I have always been a mother, I took care of all my sisters and brothers, including the ones that you see here today
(Suzy and Lucky). I guess motherhood is something that comes to me naturally.
Uche
Nworah: The growing trend of Nigerian producers
coming over to London to shoot movies may give the impression that there is a thriving
Nigerian
movie industry in the UK, how true is this assumption?
Dolly
Unachukwu: Well, contrary to assumptions,
there is a Nigerian movie market and rental industry in the UK, but not a movie industry, they have tried to do
it in the past, to create a Nigerian movie industry here in the UK but there is no known or bankable faces to work
with, the costs as well are way too much to be recouped from film sales alone.
There is a big market in the UK though, I guess it is a process that will wear on and grow gradually.
Uche
Nworah: Is it easy to get funding for movies
here in the UK?
Dolly
Unachukwu: That is another ball game, and
for this I praise the Idumota people for their long years of partnership with the Nigerian movie industry, Funding
in the UK is a bit difficult, I am funding my project myself, it is a family
thing. There are people though that may be willing to sponsor projects in London, so Nigerians should reach out to them.
Uche
Nworah: Thanks so much for your time Dolly,
any last words to your fans in Nigeria?
Dolly
Unachukwu: well, just to thank them for all
the support, I have been working very hard at my current project, so hopefully they would get to see a beautiful
movie when it is released.
Uche
Nworah is a freelance writer and would wish to interview Nigerians who are excelling at their professions either
in Nigeria or in the Diaspora, the stories of such unsung heroes can be an inspiration for us all. Do you know
of anybody? Please email their details to uchenworah@yahoo.com