Sophia Michaels
No doubt, both veterans Fausat Balogun popularly known as Madam Saje and Toyin Afolayan better known as Lola Idije are two fantastic actresses in the Yoruba movie industry. And that is because they are not only well grounded but are actually thespians who have paid their dues as role interpreters. Which is why their faces light up the screen whenever either or both of them are featured in a movie. You can’t help not marveling at their acting skills.
Meanwhile, considering their age which is above 60, the roles they can be given are limited to being a mother without much make-up or grand mother with very minor make-up because they look the part, naturally already. At 60 plus, a woman with or without children of her own would definitely give a movie producer or director the look they want in a motherly figure, or a grandma, if you like. However, did you know in giving any of such roles, movie producers as well as directors prefer to use Madam Saje rather than Lola Idije?
Any follower of developments in the Yoruba movie sector would remember that at a point in time, when it came to using a mature woman for the role of a mother, regardless of whether it is a good one or bad one, or even out rightly, a woman with some degrees of waywardness and street savvy, Lola Idije would easily fill into the role, and no one seemed to be dragging it with her. But somewhere along the line, Madam Saje popped up into the mix and it became a matter of choice between the two of them for producers.
However, for some time now, it has become obvious in movies that Madam Saje is being featured much more than Lola Idije, and findings by this writer amongst industry people have revealed the real reason behind the choice for Madam Saje over Lola Idije. And it is attributed to the fact that Madam Saje is more amenable to corrections on set than Lola Idije. ”
If Madam is asked to retake a particular scene on set 10 times, she will just be smiling and ever willing to do so. But if it is Lola Idije, after like 2 retakes she will start complaining that she can’t retake any more, that they should pick one of the two takes she has done,” a source revealed.
Hence, for that reason, producers and directors alike are said to be more comfortable with having Madam Saje at their locations more than Lola Idije because they feel they can always achieve the best they want with the former than the latter.
