Late veteran Nollywood actress, Rachael Oniga, is featuring in the new, culture-laced movie, ‘Love Castle,’ which is set to hit cinemas across the world on September 10.
The popular actress, who was born on May 23, 1957, in Ebute Meta, Lagos State, was reported to have died of COVID-19 complications at age 64 days after shooting some scenes in a movie in Mowe, Ogun State.
Funke Ogunmola, who produced New Castle, in an interview today (Friday) disclosed that Oniga was among the key actors that participated in the movie.
The movie was produced majorly in English but sparingly utilised Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba languages.
The film presents a captivating story of culture interwoven with disability.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, on Friday, Ogunmola said, ‘Adetutu had to leave her husband and daughter back in Houston Texas, U.S.A, against her wish and that of her husband to become a Regent in Nigeria at the death of her father.
“The cascading events that follow result in secrets being revealed. Regent Adetutu is trapped in the web of emotions and culture, with deadening taboos staring her in the face.”
Ogunmola, who also wrote the movie and featured in its cast, noted that the movie concept had played in her head for over 10 years before she put pen to paper in 2018 to write the first draft.
She said that it took her over a year of several drafts, revisions, and research to finally get the script ready in 2019.
Love Castle was shot in Ibadan, Nigeria in November 2019 and in Houston Texas in February 2020. The U.S.A. filming was completed just two weeks before the pandemic lockdown of 2020 began.
Also speaking about the movie after her filming role in Ibadan, Nollywood star, Kehinde Bankole, described the story as exciting.
“The route the movie producer went in telling this story is different. It is entertaining; it is rich in culture. I enjoyed every bit of the filming,” she said.
According to Ogunmola, the late Rachael Oniga after reading the script sent her a message on WhatsApp saying, “This is a wonderful story and well scripted. I am in love with it.”
The movie director, Desmond Elliott, said that culture was well captured in the story. “I love the way the story transitioned from Western to Eastern Nigeria,” he said.
Love Castle is star-studded with seasoned actors like Kehinde Bankole (in the lead role), Jide Kososko, Lateef Adedimeji, Zack Orji, Rachel Oniga, Desmond Elliott, Femi Salami, Halima Abubakar, Jumoke George, and Beatrice Ogunmola.
It is an official selection of the Toronto International Women Festival and Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival in 2021.
The movie is set for release on September 10 after being premiered in Lagos on September 4.
