Having established herself as one of the very few female to produce a block buster movie with ‘Being Mrs Eliot’, actress, producer and director, Omoni Oboli, is set to return to the cinema with another potential block buster movie, ‘The First Lady’.
The First Lady is a story of a street girl and her peeps told with intrigues, twists and turns. A comic drama with compelling story lines, backed with impressive acting, it stars Alex Ekubo, Joseph Benjamin, Yvonne Jegede, Chinedu Ikedieze, Anthony Monjaro and Omoni Oboli. It was written by Omoni and also directed by the Delta born French graduate.
Oboli’s directional debut, Being Mrs Elliot, lived up to expectations in Nigerian cinemas. The movie recorded good box office figures. It made over 5 million in its first three days in the cinemas, making it one of the most sought after movies after its premiere. According to Omoni Oboli, “The response has been phenomenal. The movie has shown me that when we do things right, most times the market’s response will also be right”.
Steve Shodiya, movie editor, revealed that sometimes he uses Omoni’s scenes to clean up other actors’ shortcomings. “As far as I’m concerned, Omoni Oboli is the best for the roles she played in “Render to Caesar”, “Anchor Baby” and “Figurine.” No other actor could have interpreted those roles the way she did. Most of them are stereotyped, but she is versatile. Also, in his own assessment, Desmond Ovbiagele said, Omoni Oboli is highly professional on set.
“I was looking for a professional in terms of her approach to work; I have heard a lot of stories about actors and actresses on set. After my research, I found out that Omoni is very professional and somebody who knows her onions. Nigerians should expect another thrilling, entertaining yet informative movie in ‘The First Lady’ and a different version of Omoni’, she concluded.