Tunde Kelani – A legend in Nollywood
He was born in Lagos State, but grew up in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He came from a poor home and at the age of five he was sent to his family compound in Abeokuta, where he grew up with his paternal grandfather “The Balogun of Ijaiye” at the time. He attended Okeona United Elementary School and Abeokuta High School. He was a beneficiary of free primary education promoted by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. and also a UAC scholarship. He grew up in an environment where he frequented the bush, caught crabs and fish from streams, and ate fruit. There was tolerance in the community where he grew up despite religious differences. He participated in all the festivals and grew up with the Yoruba culture.
The only thing that kept him company were literary books and he found almost everything he needed in “The Hunter’s Saga” by DOFagunwa, having also read “The Forest of a Thousand Demons” by the same author. “Yoruba Traveling Theatre” prospered during that period and saw the original cast of “Palm Wine Drinker” at Orisesan Hall in Ibadan. He believes that adopting a foreign language and culture puts you at a disadvantage since you cannot be better at someone else’s language. He attended the London Film School between 1976 and 1978, where he learned the “Art and Technique of Filmmaking”.
Having returned from London, he wanted to produce an adaptation of Adebayo Faliti’s “Father Michael’s Dilemma” and therefore entered into a partnership with the author on a budget of N85,000. The money was raised, but the film did not achieve the desired impact. He was not intimidated and went on to produce more films which later culminated in successful films. He worked on several projects with the late Herbert Ogunde, Ola Balogun, and Bruce Beresford, who directed “Mister Johnson” (partly shot in Nigeria). He operates a mobile cinema project in association with Unicef and directs productions for Mainframe which he founded in 1992. The company operates to document our oral traditions through film before they disappear forever in the face of modern adversity.
Once he was in Holland and in an interview he was asked to select between six things ranging from books, videos to music and others, something that he thought was really exceptional. She chose Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” opera because she couldn’t get it out of her head how some people could tell the story of Jesus Christ’s last seven days on earth in an opera that encompassed every musical genre. .
He has produced commercials (First bank, Bagco super sack, Equitorial trust bank, Amstel malta, lotus body cream, sunola, satis, walls ice cream and many more), festival documentaries (Mbaise new yam festival, Kano Durbar, Okosi festival, festival Olojo, Argungu festival). He has certainly carved a niche for himself and has become a household name. When I once asked him what advice he had for “wanting to be a celebrity” in acting, directing and other spheres of film production, he simply said
“Only stay true to your dreams once you’ve decided that’s what you want to do in life. Make sure you’re well educated and passionate and desperate about what you want to do. Forget the glamour, it’s going to be a lot of work.” hard. Only the most desperate will succeed. Gain skills, stay focused. Let your passion and dedication drive you.”
He has been involved in various film productions as cinematographer/director such as: Ireke onibudo, Efunsetan, Vigilanter, Iya ni wura, Ogun Ajaye, Mosebolatan, kannakanna, Eri okan, Ti oluwa nile, Ayo ni mo fe, koseegbe, Oleku , A Place Called Home, The White Handkerchief, Rainforest Twins, Saworoid, Thunderbolt, A Barber’s Wisdom, Agogoeewo, The Queen of Campus, The Narrow Path, Abeni, Arugba.