Izuchukwu OkosiNollywood movies especially those we saw about 10-20 years ago had a common theme.
The family oriented movies portrayed the many challenges families face especially when dealing with in-laws.
Father in-laws are not overly known to be ‘troublesome’ like the Mother in-laws in the African society.
The roles of troublesome mother-in laws in films, short dramas and soaps have been interpreted by some of the leading actors in the industry with varying degrees of experience.
When producers and directors cast for roles, they have actresses in mind who will best suited for it.
A select group of Nigerian actresses have captured our attention as they dazzle with their exceptional acting skills.
They include: Patience Ozokwo, Shola Shobowale, Ngozi Ezeonu, Ebele Okaro- Onyuike and Joke Silva to name a few.
Prime Business Africa attempts to answer a question on the minds of many movie buffs who could be debating who comes tops as regards the Mother-in-law capable of sending a man to their graves.
In attempting to settle the puzzle, we have elected to go for two key indicators.
These are Consistency and Experience.
In terms of consistency, this could rightly or wrongly be classified as being stereotyped.
Most producers and directors often have on mind the actors they have faith in to deliver their roles excellently.
A phrase often used to describe this in the movie industry is “table cast.”
Table casting means major roles for a movie already decided before a production company officially calls for an audition.
It must be said that these star actors paid their dues before they became sensations in their crafts.
Their achievements over the years were not on a platter of gold but in addition to the trainings acquired overtime, perhaps real time experience in their respective private lives have helped shape the narrative and brought out the best in them.
Shola Shobowale, affectionately known as ‘Toyin Tomatoes’ for her exceptional acting in a drama series, is capable of playing the role of a ‘wicked’ mother-in-law.
She has however not played such roles on a consistent basis.
Same can be said of Ngozi Ezeonu, the delectable ‘Glamour Girls’ actress who blew our minds with her roles back in the day as a young lady who had a bad mother-in-law.
With age and time, Ezeonu has transitioned to playing motherly roles often and we have seen the good and bad characters played by the Anambra state-born thespian.
Patience Ozokwo is the darling of most movie fans.
Sometimes it was not all rosy when she is not on location.
The onetime voice actor who played roles for radio dramas at Radio Nigeria Enugu had spoken about how she was insulted by some people who felt her acting mirrors her person.
Perhaps Ozokwo’s background in real life had something to do with her understanding of family politics which is why she interpreted her roles.
Ozokwo was born in a polygamous family in Enugu state and an excerpt from an interview she granted a Nigerian television station speaks of her experience.
Ozokwo was married to a suitor that came her way at an early age as she was not allowed by her parents to marry her love interest.
“It was horrible,” Ozokwo said in reference to her marriage to Engineer Ndubuisi Ozokwo at 19.
“At our time, you (woman), you don’t decide who marries you. Your parents or cousins can do that. Once your parents have accepted it, you are in for it.
“In our parents home, you don’t come back from your husband’s house. You stay, manage it and make the best out of it. So when i came in, I put my head to it because I couldn’t disappoint my father who loved me so much,” Ozokwo went on.
It is curious to know if that has been a factor in her being a great actress.
Ebele Okaro-Onyuike has also played a could of such roles in with superb deliveries but hers has not been as regular as her aforementioned colleagues especially the latter.
Joke Silva has not been such a trouble on our screens but she can offer good job of it.
Prime Business Africa’s verdict is on Patience Ozokwo edging it over the quartet of Shola Shobowale, Ngozi Ezeonu, Ebele Okaro-Onyuike and Joke Silva in that order.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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