NOLLYWOOD MOVIES ARE JAGA JAGA- GHOLLYWOOD ACTRESS, ELLA MENSAH

After shooting more than 30 movies in Nigeria, Ghollywood actress, Ella Mensah has described movies produced in Nollywood as Jaga jaga, meaning rubbish and substandard. She gave this surprised verdict at an exclusive interview with The New Star Magazine in Lagos.

Tall and elegant, Ella who was a guest at a media parley explained, “Ghana shoots one movie in a month but in Nigeria they shoot more than 10 movies per week.

Here in Nigeria movie is on its fast lane. As my friends would always say, jaga jaga here in Nigeria. It`s very fast not slowing down as they tell you that it is their money that they need to get their money back fast. Most of them are rubbish.

But they are trying and I love it here.”But in comparing the two of Africa`s biggest movie industries, she was full of praise for Nollywood, “You cannot compare Nollywood and Ghollywood. We know that Nollywood is a bigger market. Except you make it in Nollywood you can’t be known in Ghana and the whole of Africa. Nollywood is big.

Once you break it in Ghana you come to Nollywood. There are a lot of celebrities in Ghana that are not known in Nigeria. It is because I am known in Ghana and not known in Nigeria that I started coming here. Now my fan base is more in Nigeria than in Ghana. I get jobs here that some even think I am a Nigerian.”

She was also not equivocal when speaking on sex, nudity and movies, “I know a lot of people have tagged Ghanaian movies as nothing but sex. Oh, no. We don’t do that. We don’t remove our panties. This is how we shoot; when the director says action I take off my clothes, have my back to the camera, pull off my bra and the camera zoom my back been naked. After the camera cuts you go under the duvet while putting on a bum shot that covers your ass. When they see your back you have to take everything away. We have artificial silicon breast that we put on. So your whole body will be showing while your breast is covered. As in the Nigerian shot Ghana movie, Kiss Me If You Can, there were brand new panties given to them to put on. That when it is action, they bring out the panties."

Ella went on, "Why must she remove her own panties? When we are telling a story we want it to look as real as possible. People always criticize it but it sells. When you see a movie with girls wearing bra the public buys them like craze. If you have a movie with a story that tells on morals they don’t buy it. Then the marketers feel it`s their money.

How do you like that or would you like to invest and lose your money? We all know how tight things are economically. So if you invest N25m and you get back N1m will you be happy? No. You will do what will make you get more profit.”