Nigeria’s Former Ambassador to the Philippines and Filmmaker, Dr Yemi Farounbi, has revealed that he found veteran Nollywood actor, Ojo Arowosafe popularly referred to as Fadeyi Oloro, and Folake Aliu higher referred to as Orisabunmi by chance.
He disclosed this throughout an interview with Nigerian Tribune, the place he mentioned in particulars his journey within the Entertainment business and the way he helped uncover skills.
On how he obtained into filmmaking and his years of commerce, he stated,
“When, eventually, I left the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), my mind was made up that I was going to go into filmmaking. That was ever before I had to work with the Oyo State government under Governor Bola Ige in setting up the Television Service of Oyo State (TSOS). I was planning to make a film called King Henri Christophe. This was the story of a black man who became the king of Haiti. He was reputed to have led the troops of Haiti to defeat the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. So, I was trying to make that film from the point of view of projecting the Yoruba culture because quite a number of things that you find in Haiti today originated from Yoruba. They say they have voodoo. They said that they have voodoo instead of juju. In Haiti at that time, if you had malaria, they will make a concoction for you and cover you with a big cloth so that you can sweat it. That was what I was trying to raise funds to do when Governor Bola Ige invited me to come and start the Oyo State television. So, when I finished that assignment and left the government after Chief Bola Ige lost his election, I came back to the film industry. I had resolved in my mind, after I couldn’t do the King Henri Christophe which was in English, that all my films or all my TV productions would be in Yoruba. This was because I found that that was a way of marketing our culture and propagating our culture, the way the Indians do. You will find that the bulk of Indian films is in their language. They can do an English summary of the films. So, I therefore came into film industry. Before I did my major films, I did a few TV programmes. I did Igba Oro with Jimoh Aliu Group that I had discovered when I was General Manager, NTV Akure. Eventually we did Arelu that swept the whole of the South West. We didn’t do it only in Oyo State, we syndicated it all over the Yoruba states. So, by the time we now went into my film, Agba Arin, we had established a name. I also did another film based on Adebayo Faleti’s Idaamu Paadi Mikailu ‘The Dilemma of Father Michael’; we called it ‘Iwa’. So, that was how I got into the film industry.”
About Yanponyanrin, Farounbi stated,
“Yes, I produced Yanponyanrin parts 1 and 2 on television using the Jimoh Aliu Troupe. I did Agbeleku using the Olagunju Troupe. I also did Omo Inu Oku with another troupe. I must have done about eight of such TV productions. All these works were generally trying to expose the triumph of good over evil.”
When requested about his relationship with veteran actors like Chief Jimoh Aliu (Aworo); Folake Aliu (Orisabunmi) and Ojo Arowosafe (Fadeyi Oloro), Farounbi stated
“I had the privilege of being divinely used to advertise this group as a result of they had been largely unknown and had been primarily based at No 6 Ilepa Street in Ikare-Akoko. But I got here in because the GM of NTV Akure and lots of the artistes who had been that includes with me when I was GM in Ibadan wished to associate with me – the Alawada Group, the Ajimajasan Group, the Awada Troupe and all of that however I didn’t like that as a result of I wished to create in NTV Akure drama successes utilizing the abilities in Akure.
“So, one among my workers members informed me about Jimoh Aliu and I stated they need to carry him and we met. He was closely bearded like me and lots of people used to name us twins. So, when I now discovered him, I did Igbo Olodumare with him. When I was in Ibadan, we had completed Igbo Irunmole with Duro Ladipo. Before Duro Ladipo handed away he and I had agreed that we’d do Aditu Olodumare. Unfortunately he was sick, got here to UCH and by no means got here again. So, when I obtained to Akure, I wished to make use of indigenous teams there and there have been fairly a lot of them, however the main one was the Aworo (Jimoh Aliu) group.
“It wasn’t Ojo Arowosafe that was Fadeyi then, it was Daramola, and it was his spouse, Ramota Daramola, that was Orisabunmi. Circumstances created a change. We had a stay present on the Oduduwa Hall, Amphi Theatre Theatre of the Obafemi Awolowo University.
“Having made some outstanding impression on the society due to the tv manufacturing of Igbo Olodumare the place Jimoh Aliu featured as Olowo Aye. We obtained there for the stage play, the corridor was crammed up with college students however we didn’t discover the then Orisabunmi (Ramota) and we didn’t discover the then Fadeyi (Daramola) who was known as Egbeji a lot later. They didn’t present up, we had the gang and you understand what college students could be.
“They had paid and it will be tough if we didn’t go on with the present. Ojo Arowosafe used to behave because the son of Fadeyi, he was Fabunmi as a matter of reality. He used to comply with him on stage and so forth. So, he informed us that he might act the position as he had been following him on stage, that he knew all of the nuances, incantations and all others like that. Because we had been determined, we scheduled him to be Fadeyi that day and we scheduled Shade Aliyu to do Orisabunmi. Happily they did very nicely. In reality they did so nicely that the scholars had been riotous in appreciation.
“So, we had nearly completed when the Daramolas got here they usually discovered that we had not been let down and that the gang response was one thing else. So, they pleaded with me that they might act the following day and I stated no, that the scholars would stone me if I now change the those who that they had joyously reacted to. That was how we eased out the Daramolas.
“One of the good issues about manufacturing is location. When you might have an excellent story, you should have an excellent location, the costume, good design and good characters that will translate the story. So we selected to do a recording at Omu Aran and on our method, we at all times stopped at Sunny Stores at Ilorin. The proprietor (Sunny) was from Ido-Ekiti, very close to my mom’s dwelling city, Usi-Ekiti.
So, we stopped there and within the workplace of Sunny someday whereas we had been consuming breakfast on our method to Omu Aran we heard anyone singing. It was like Ijala and I requested ‘who is this?’ They stated it was the accountant or cashier – one thing like that. I requested Sunny to carry the girl. I requested there after which her if she might be part of us within the manufacturing as a result of it will seem that the sonorous track was indigenous to her household. She was born into it. We determined we’d use her and that was how she turned Orisabunmi.
“After this experiment, we didn’t take Daramola as I stated and we determined to improve Ojo Arowosafe from being Fabunmi to Fadeyi. Of course he was extra dramatic. Of all of the artistes I met when I was in manufacturing, Ojo Arowosafe was the best to coach. Oh, it’s good to see his motion on stage. He might adapt to any position. He was simply nice. He was such an artiste that would act your self in your house.
“I noticed some artistes that would not act something besides Oba, or besides the boss. He was nearly as good as Kola Ogunmola and he might act any position and he was very cellular, very fluid. He was very teachable and he was extra fearsome as Fadeyi.
“So to distinguish him, we now called him Fadeyi Oloro. Because God had used me in identifying them, in doing Igbo Olodumare, later on Igba Oro, later still Yanponyanrin and subsequently Arelu, and featuring them in Agbarin, we had a really very close relationship. It was because of that I discovered that one of his wives, Iya Ige – she died much earlier, was in fact a relation of my mother’s. So, we operated almost like a family. All his children and Jimoh’s children still get across to me till today. So, we had a wonderful relationship.”
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