Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has spoken about the personal sacrifices she made while working on her latest film, Behind The Scenes, which has grossed more than ₦2.7 billion at the Nigerian box office.
Speaking in an interview with BellaNaija, Akindele said achieving such success required total commitment, revealing that she put her personal life on hold to focus on the project.According to the actress, she sacrificed her social life, rarely attended events and devoted nearly all of her time to work.
“What I do differently to achieve this level of success is lots of work. When I say ‘a lot of work’, it means giving your all. I abandoned myself for work; I didn’t even do my hair except when I was attending a red carpet or somewhere important. I don’t attend parties, I don’t go to people’s homes to greet them. I quit everything. I’m neck-deep in work; I sacrifice my time for it.
“It’s only now that I have relaxed, feel refreshed and have time for skincare. It took a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights, forgetting to eat and giving my all,” she said.
Akindele also addressed criticism of her promotional style, particularly the dancing videos she shares while marketing her films.
She said no one had instructed her to dance and argued that reducing her marketing strategy to dancing alone overlooked the wider effort involved in promoting a film.
“I do much more than dance. People should stop belittling my work by saying all I do is dance,” she said.
The actress had previously spoken about the sacrifices required to build her brand during an appearance at Wema Bank’s International Women’s Day programme hosted by Morayo Afolabi Brown.
On that occasion, she disclosed that she gave up much of her social life and spent nearly two years largely confined to her estate while focusing on her career.
According to Akindele, some of her colleagues misunderstood her decision and described her as antisocial, unaware that she was deliberately investing in her personal and professional development.
In earlier posts on Instagram, the filmmaker reflected on her journey, saying her success was the result of years of learning, prayer and a willingness to reassess and refine her approach.
She also spoke about the pressures of working in the entertainment industry, saying the challenges had strengthened her character by teaching her patience, discipline and emotional resilience.
Akindele’s achievements have earned industry recognition. The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) recently honoured her for her contribution to the Nigerian film industry and her record-breaking box office success.
Reacting to the recognition, the actress expressed gratitude for what she described as acknowledgement of her hard work and consistency.
Behind The Scenes has become one of the highest-grossing Nigerian films, surpassing the ₦2.1 billion mark within a month of its release before continuing its box office run to exceed ₦2.7 billion.
Last year, Akindele also celebrated 27 years in the Nigerian film industry, attributing her longevity and continued success to hard work, perseverance and what she described as God’s favour.
0 Comments
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on this platform as comments were freely made by each person under his or her own volition or responsibility and were neither suggested nor dictated by the owners of News PLATFORM or any of their contracted staff. So we take no liability whatsoever for such comments.
Please take note!