A: I’m very sure the Lilian
Bach
you’re seeing is different from the one you see in movies.
This is because, I’m only interpreting the roles assigned me.
However, I’m simple and down-to-earth. I don’t have
any air of pretence about men, I do my job as an actress and interpret
my roles to the best of my abilities. I play different roles in movies,
like a wayward lady, funny housewife, a devoted housewife, a
schoolgirl, etc. I’ve actually played many characters, but
the real me is simple and God-fearing.
Q: Have
you at anytime played a role that accurately depicts the real you?
A: I can’t remember, because I have played so many roles. So
it is difficult for me to say. May be when I get home and search
through the movies I have acted, I will be able to know the ones I
acted something close to what I am in real life. But for now, it is
very difficult for me to say.
Q:
People believe it’s your beauty, more than anything else,
that gave you the Nollywood breakthrough.
A: People can say what they like. The’re entitled to their
opinions. I was in India some weeks back and was watching CNN. They
were interviewing a lady who is one of the reigning stars of Bollywood.
She just did a movie
with Jackie Chan and the journalist asked her: ‘people say it
is your sexy look that got you to the top’. I was really
impressed with the answer the lady gave. She said Jackie Chan used his
muscles to get to where he is, so if her sexy looks got her to the top,
what is wrong with that? If people see that I have a light complexion
and therefore I’m fit for a particular role, what is the
problem about it? Even if you have the physique and you can’t
interpret the role properly, you won’t be given any role. So,
for them to have given me roles means I have the qualities and I give
God the glory.
Q: So,
what will you say actually brought you to limelight?
A: I don’t know because I started as a model, so
I’ve always been in the limelight. I started modelling when
it was no big deal here, when it was just gradually gaining ground,
just as some people began acting
before home videos gained ground. I’ve always been in the
limelight, but I’m a quiet person, I’m not a
noise-maker, I’m a silent achiever, so I can’t say
this is what brought me to limelight.
Q: What
makes you different from other actresses?
A: Yeah, we have a lot of actresses, and the sky is so big for every
bird to fly without having accidents in the air. That’s the
way I see it. What makes me different is that I guess I have my own
ways and I’m sure my fans, directors and producers who have
been using me for jobs in Nollywood know what makes me different or may
be when it comes to some certain roles, they know I can handle them
better. I really don’t know that special thing about me, but
it’s left to those who’ve been using me to say that
thing is special about this girl. I just know I’m one of the
talented people in Nollywood. Each of us has what distinguishes her
from the other. I just know I have been able to play different roles,
I’ve not been sterotyped to play one particular role,
I’ve found myself playing all kinds of roles.
Q: What
kind of roles do you enjoy playing most?
A: Acting itself is just like playing, and you’re been paid.
I enjoy every role given to me, so I can’t say this is the
one I enjoy playing most. I’m still looking forward to more
challenging roles which I have not played. I want to play the role of a
blind woman, I want to play the role of an old woman, it is possible
with good make up. Those are the kind of roles I’m looking
forward to.
Q: Tell
us about your experience in Nollywood?
A: It has not been easy, I must tell you. The way to the top is not
always easy. I’ve been discouraged many times, but the love
of the job keeps pulling me back. It’s been so good and at
the same time, there have been ups and downs along the line. For
example, when I started in 1997, you won’t believe I
wasn’t paid for the first two movies I did. I just said
‘is this how the so-called Nollywood is’?. At
times, you see or hear some things that could discourage you, or
actually discourage you. But then, I’ve learnt that you just
have to turn deaf ears if you want to remain in the acting world. You
pretend that you’re not hearing anything at all. Is it what
your colleagues who are not happy about you say or what you read about
yourself in the papers that are not true? I believe if others are
surviving such criticism, I too can survive it.
Q:
How do you really feel when actors are smooching you on set?
A: They are not smooching for fun, they are acting their roles. There
is nothing to it at all. If you’re given a role to play, you
just have to play it perfectly, to convince your viewers. So I
don’t see anything wrong in people smooching themselves on
set, according to you. As far as you are doing your job, and not just
smooching out of set. They are smooching because the role demands them
to smooch. As for me, I interpret my role and character. If the role
says smooch, we have a way to smooch so it is not something indecent
and that’s where it ends.
Q: But
an actress once said some actors go the extra-mile in interpreting the
role?
A: I have never experienced such a thing. I guess it has to do with
whoever is playing with whoever. A professional is always a
professional. I’m not saying that there are no people that go
the extra-mile to interpret their roles, but I’ve never
experienced it because when I’m doing my job, I’m
strictly doing my job. If I want to do romance or play funny, it
won’t be when I’m doing my work.
Q:
Don’t you sometimes get carried away when touched in a
sensitive part of your body by an actor?
A: What sensitive part are you talking about? I haven’t seen
people going beyond kissing in movies. Anyway, different things turn
different people on, but as for me, when I’m working, my
brain is telling me I’m working. I don’t get
carried away by anything. I think it has to do with the structure of
your mind and brain. Some people are not disciplined and they are
careless and useless when it comes to simple touch or whatever it is.
That is when they can get carried away, but I’m a disciplined
person. May be some people have been admiring each other before and
when they meet on set, they see it as an opportunity to express
whatever feelings they have for each other.
Q: What
is the reason behind your recent trip to India?
A: I went for Indian Broadcast 2005. It’s about some
exhibitions. I think it’s something that holds every year. We
were supposed to be greater in number for the trip, but some people
backed out for one reason or the other. For me, I love anything I will
gain from. It was an official trip really, a lot of people came from
all over the world to exhibit the latest technology in film making. We
saw the latest cameras, different kinds of recording equipment and all
that. That’s what I went for: to see how the industry is
developing out there. I learned from the trip that there is another
‘acting industry’ in South India called Tollywood.
I was surprised because I’d never heard of Tollywood before
and I heard they have the biggest studio in the whole world, which is
even bigger than Hollywood.
Due to insufficient time, because I spent five days, we
couldn’t visit Tollywood to see things for ourselves. I also
learnt about a HDB camera that people are going for now. You can
actually transfer to 3-5 ML converter for cinema viewing, so I came
back with a lot of brochures of the latest cameras. I saw a lot of new
equipment that we’ve not been using here in Nigeria.
Q: How
do you see the quality of films
we have in Nollywood compared to Hollywood and Bollywood?
A: To be honest, in terms of quality, we haven’t arrived yet.
But we have good stories. Quality is our problem now. We can as well do
better if we try to use some of those equipment. I even discovered that
some of those equipment are not expensive, it’s what people
can come together to buy, an individual can even purchase some of these
equipment. It’s just that standard and quality that we have
not achieved. Afterall, the actors in Hollywood and Bollywood are human
like us, so I don’t see what they’re doing that we
cannot do. We are even better than some of them in terms of acting,
directing or producing. What is killing us is the penchant for cutting
corners and that won’t do us any good. When you spend money
on a production, it’s always better than when you cut
corners. The major barrier we have is to stop producing wishy washy
films, we should try to use these latest cameras and all that, so that
people will stop complaining about our works. Another problem is that
Nollywood is not united. A house divided against itself will never
stand. Anyway, may be these things are happening because we are just
growing. It’s high time we stopped crawling, we need to walk,
and for us to walk, we have to do away with the ugly things. We know
what is right for the industry to grow. No more wishy washy films, use
the right cameras, no more cutting corners, if the budget of a
production says N5 million, go ahead and do it. Some are actually
afraid of piracy but I can tell you these things can be curbed if we
are united.
Q: What
is your interest in music?
A: I’m a singer, I have an album
that I have cooked up for about four years now which I’m yet
to release. I don’t want to be referred to as having joined
the bandwagon. I’m a very patient person, I like to take my
time on whatever I’m doing. People were just fortunate to see
one or two tracks out of the six tracks, and that is the Makossa track
that talks about marriage. But I’ve got some superb tracks,
like hip hop and other genres in the album, which people have not
heard. It’s a Christian gospel music because that’s
my calling.
As time goes on, I will make up my mind on when to release it,
I’m not in a hurry or under any pressure because
I’m not doing it to make money but to win souls for God.
Q:
You’re still single, I’ve heard you saying once
that it’s because you’ve not met Mr. Right. Have
there not been pressures from your family?
A: I’m not from that kind of family, nobody is putting any
pressure on anybody, so I thank God for that. In my family, my mother
respects everybody’s opinion and feelings about life. I will
let you know when it is time. I’ve not changed from the Lilian
Bach
I used to be. I appreciate the media in terms of their encouragement
and good publicity. Without you journalists, some people will never
know us. Some of the new movies I did are not yet out, so you guys
should just watch out.