By Damilola Fatunmise
From captivating audiences in “Everything It Takes” to taking home the 2024 AMVCA Best Actress award, Kehinde Bankole has become a powerhouse in the Nigerian film industry. Her dedication to her craft shines through in every role.
Bankole doesn’t just act, she embodies her characters. This commitment, along with her ability to choose strong scripts, has kept her career flourishing and free of controversy.
In this interview, Bankole delves into her experience portraying the iconic activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti in the biopic of the same name.
Enjoy!
Your AMVCA win did not come as a surprise to so many people, how do you feel about being declared in the Best Lead Actress category?
Honestly, I feel so honoured and blessed to have been recognised again by the organisers of the award ceremony. The last time I was nominated in a category similar to this was in 2022 (Best Actress in Drama). Winning the AMVCA is an indication that people are indeed watching and looking out for me. I can only appreciate the various directors and producers who have engaged me in their respective productions, and it’s a collective win for all of us.
A lot of people feel your craft is not appreciated enough in the industry, do you also think so?
Not at all, I don’t feel that way, but the reality is that you cannot act in every movie likewise you cannot win in every award category you are nominated in. As a thespian, I have learnt to always put quality energy into whatever productions I am involved in. Appreciation might not come immediately, but it will come someday. Some of the big veterans we all celebrate today never got appreciated in the beginning but now their craft is paying off. What that simply means is that there is time for everything.
You pulled off the role of younger Ransome-Kuti in the award-winning movie; ‘Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’, how easy or tough was it for you to deliver on the role?
First, I had the most surreal time filming the Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti project in Egbaland in Ogun State to be precise. Was the role challenging for me, yes because I was playing the character of Nigeria’s first female political leader, women rights activist, educator and mother of the renowned Kuti dynasty and Afrobeats legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The character itself is so big, but thank God, with collective efforts, I was able to deliver.
Will you say that you have some personal traits that are similar to those of the late Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti while playing the character?
Yes, I must say that I have some personal traits that are similar to those of the late warrior as I want to refer to her. One of such is that I detest injustice and corruption and the late Funmilayo Rabsome-Kuti equally frowned as that. The qualities she possesses were just a personal call for me to speak up more and partake in whichever area of nation-building requires our voices to be stronger. I feel this project needs to be celebrated more as it will help educate the younger generations about heroines like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and also about fulfilling their dreams and purposes.
What attracted you to the project?
Everything, I must say, and when I got to know that I was playing the lead role in such a fantastic project, I was happy. The film centres around Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti leading the famous Abeokuta Women’s Revolt (also called the Egba Women’s Tax Riot), a resistance movement led by the Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU) in the late 1940s against the imposition of unfair taxation by the Nigerian colonial government. I am grateful to Bolanle Austen-Peters for giving me the role to play. The entire production crew members, including the over 100 women, who acted with me made, made the journey easy, sweet and beautiful.
What are some of the memorable moments on the set of the film?
To be honest, every moment on set was memorable and one cannot trade them at all. Don’t forget I have worked on several projects as a filmmaker, but this is just a well-standard and structured production. You can’t work with Bolanle Austen Production (BAP) and expect something less knowing her love and passion for anything theatre. The set was memorable from the quality of the cast involved to filming with Peter Thomas, the Deputy Head of Mission at the British High Commission in Lagos, and having the Kuti Family on the ground. Also playing with pets and tortoises, and eating good, indigenous meals in Abeokuta, Ogun State amongst others were interesting. It was a blast.
You do a lot of stage performances; which will you consider more challenging, being a stage performer or an actress?
Both of them are challenging, the stage is very disciplined, and very challenging because you don’t have a second take, there is no rewind and let me take it again and so on. What you give at that time is what the people are going to get, you must make your decision for the stage. You have to decide how you want to deliver that role within a fraction of a second, and once it’s done, you can’t take it back, it helps you to be focused. People think acting in a movie is simple, but it is not, it is also equally challenging. The opportunity you have to act in a stage play once is not like that of a film, you might have to re-do like 30 times, think about rewinding a particular emotion, the stress of having to put yourself on the same level of that emotion for about 30 times, especially if there is a crowd in a scene and you have to re-do a scene plenty times and sustain the same level of energy. If you have to remember something bad that made you in the mood, you have to remember that over and over if you are asked to act the scene all over again, so it is equally challenging if not even more, it’s a lot of hard work.
These days we see more female actresses delve into production and directing, are you also going in that direction anytime soon?
No, ‘am an actor, well if I have the opportunity to produce something, it doesn’t have to be film, it could be telling a serious story through a documentary. Some people do this, somehow I could be involved in the process of the production, I don’t have anything against it, but I am an actor.
You are a fantastic actress, what do you look out for in a script before you consider it worthy?
The direction the story is going, there are some stories you will see and you will understand what they are saying, but you won’t understand the direction it’s going, that is what I look out for. I want a good story, apart from the story being good, I should be able to understand the direction, there is theme, and the message the story is trying to pass. Whatever happens to me, the first time I open a script will be happening to the people watching at home. We serve as the bridge between the people at home who are watching the movie and the person writing the story.
What is your take on the state of the industry before you joined and now?
Yes, there are lots. changes, those who are ahead of us have done a lot of work. Now, there are so many opportunities, there are young producers and actors. It is spreading everywhere, the media is coming to us and we are also going to the media. It is not everybody in the entertainment industry that is acting, everybody is doing serious work here, there are editors and cinematographers, and it is way better than how it was before.
How have you been able to keep off scandals?
I keep things simple; simplicity is what makes you stay away from trouble, when you keep everything simple, it makes whatever comes back to you simple.
Take away acting from Kehinde who is Kehinde Bankole in real life?
I joke a lot, and I like to laugh. When I am in the mood, we crack jokes and laugh and I also have a good time. I love to cook, and I love spending time with family, loved ones and friends. I like to make people happy, and I can be very strict.