-
Actor & Filmmaker, ALIU GAFAR
-
Reveals How It Helped His Career
Aliu Gafar is an actor and filmmaker, particularly known for his work in the Yoruba film industry.
He began his acting career in the 1990s, featuring in various Yoruba films and television series. He first gained popularity for his roles in movies such as “Orogun” and “Ija Ominira”.
He became more popular with his outstanding roles and performance in the new wave making Netflix movie “Seven Doors.” produced by Femi Adebayo.
Aliu Gafar’s role as Esusu in the movie Seven Doors is definitely one of his most notable performances. He brought the character to life with his impressive acting skills, earning him widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike. As Esusu, Aliu Gafar’s performance was described as “Stellar” and “powerful,” with many praising his talent and dedication to the role. His ability to render lines with endearing pitch control and effortlessly embody the character has been particularly noted.
How did he prepare for the Esusu role? What were the many challenges he faced delivering the role? These and many other sundry issues were discussed with Aliu Gafar at our Movie Roundtable when he visited City People office a few days ago. Below are excerpts of the interview.
Let us begin by asking you, how do you feel right now, that all of a sudden, Esusu is everywhere, Aliu Gafar is trending, tell us, how did your journey to acting start?
Thank you very much, I am so happy to be here. My name is Aliu Gafar, I am an actor, I am the Esusu as you know. My journey started when I was young, back in my primary school days, I started performing in churches, although I am a Muslim, I stayed with my maternal grandfather and he is a Christian, from there I joined the industry in the year 2000, February 15th, 2000 to be exact and ever since, I have been a stage actor, a cinema actor, an actor basically.
So how did you prepare for the role of Esusu and how did you feel about it?
Well, I felt humbled and I can say I am priviledged to have played the role because I know for a fact that there are a lot of actors that can play the role and even play it better. You know, Esusu is an interesting character that embodies all the negative traits of an evil personality which is the total opposite of who I am, I had to bring life and reality to the character without also losing my sanity in the process, and that’s it.
I am curious, you hear a lot of actors that play roles as intense as yours say some things, some will tell you that they had to go through some form of spiritual preparation to be able to play the role, especially for those who claim and see themselves as highly religious and to made play role that “is almost demonic in nature and is rooted in ancient cultures and tradition”. So how was the process like for you?
To be honest I wasn’t even prepared for the role till I got to the location because I wasn’t in Nigeria and I got back a day to my shoot. I believe that in anything you do, you need to pray, personally, I pray before I climb any set or stage or start any shoot, I always pray because I believe in the Almighty God and I put everything in his hands and ask him to make it a success for me, then I climb the stage. So I don’t go through any other spiritual process, I just go through Almighty Allah.
How challenging was it?
Oh it was very challenging because there were some things that happened on set but as an actor, what happens on set, stays on set. In every location, there will always be challenges one way or another but as an actor, you will need to understand that it is a normal thing you will face some of the times, if not all the time on set.
So there were definitely challenges, meaning you had challenges right?
Are you talking about after the role?
Yes, generally.
No, not really. I will just say that on set a lot of things happened. For instance, the day my cloth caught on fire, another was the day I swallowed raw pepper after eating.
Oh, you swallowed it for real?
Yes I did. It was a bit challenging, they had to look for palm oil for me, even the contact lens gave me a lot of challenge but Alhamdulillah, I am grateful because we didn’t work in vain.
Interesting, so after your role, in the movie, how has life been for you, has the movie impacted in your career?
Are you talking about this particular movie?
Yes.
I think it has, and positively too because I am seeing a lot of changes. You know, initially, I thought I was quite popular, I thought I was a star but after 7 Doors was released, I realised the true meaning of being a public figure.
Wow!!! Another question I’d love to ask is how do you hope to continue your film career after now, are you hoping to get into more movies? Are you hoping to go into the entertainment space full time? Or you just want to take a break and then continue later?
Certainly not, I will never stop doing what I love to do.
Very nice. So are we expecting to see more of these sort of roles in future or are we going to be seeing a different you?
A different me. As an actor, you should be able to fit into different roles. Watch out for more from me, from us.
How is it amazing that you’re on Netflix, how do you feel about that?
Though this is not my first time on Netflix because I was in Jagun Jagun, and some other movies but this is like the highlight of it all.
Oh really! What role did you play in Jagun Jagun?
I played the role of Gbogunleri, me, Macaroni and Kunle Afod. They sent us to lead the war and we sat someplace and started eating and we paid for it.
Okay, I just wanted you to establish that. So the cast in 7 Doors, being on that set, that massive location, what was the feeling like for you, you know, being amongst some of those celebrated names?
Yeah, I felt humble and I felt good too. Though I know most of them but it was really good working with one of the most hardworking crew in the industry most especially the Executive Producer, I am so grateful to him. He made everything so easy, it felt really good to be with them and I enjoyed every moment.
I’d like to ask what your relationship is with Femi Adebayo now?
Femi Adebayo is a role model, I will call him a leader, he is a father figure, a king maker, a star maker. We are very very close. He has been showing me love, I mean massive love even way before 7 Doors.
Do you still keep in touch with your cast members?
Yes I talk to them.
So about your character, I am aware that the traditional Yoruba culture have different gods and their names, I don’t know how intense you are with your character, or how much background study of your character you did, but do you think “Esusu” is derived from a real life, Yoruba god or you think it is 100% fictional
I think its fictional, but you know in life, there are some people that even though you do not know them, they probably have the same traits and can do what Esusu did so it is possible, but let’s just say it is a fiction.
Thank you very much. I want to know how you feel seeing that 7 Doors is a massive success, how do you feel knowing that you’re a part of that project that has become this successful?
I feel so good and happy, and I am always very thankful to God and Femi Adebayo. I keep thinking, what if I wasn’t a part of this film, what would have happened, because the love right now is massive, everything has changed within this period of like a month.
