Saidi Balogun
Popular movie producer and actor, Saidi Balogun, is unhappy and the reason is connected to piracy that has hit his business. It is said that pirates have dubbed several copies of his new movie, You or I, despite recent campaigns against piracy in the country.
Balogun urged the government to do more to check piracy in the movie industry, adding that it had greatly affected his business.
He said, “I don’t know why it is majorly the Yoruba movie industry and independent film makers that are mostly affected by piracy. All I know is that my new movie, You or I, has been pirated and it has made me incur debts. I want the government to please look into it because my life is being pirated away. Government has often said that the movie industry is a major source of employment. If that is true, then government should save the industry by stamping out piracy; it will save us.”
Although the actor shied away from talking about his failed marriage, he stated that it was not a coincidence that his last two movies centered on marriage. He said some of the people who had seen the movies assumed that he was using them to address some issues in his last marriage.
“I hate talking about my past marriage, but it is true that my recent movies speak about marriages. I cannot say if the movies are about my past marriage but people would be able to deduce when they watch the film. The first movie, Modupe Temi, shows how gossip breaks a home and the other, You or I, asks which race is suitable to have as a wife between the white and black. If you say I am talking about my past marriage, fine, all I want is the audience to learn from my movie. Possibly, the Lord is using me as an example to tell a story. Although, before the marriage all these stories have been there but God is the greatest producer. He creates all things but whatever people want to say they should say. All I want is for people to learn from my stories. If you say I am a living example to what I wrote, fine, I accept but I would ask people to please buy an original copy, watch and learn regardless who they think the story is about,” Balogun said.
