Juju, hatred destroying film industry — Ras Nene
A LOT of reasons have been attributed to the decline in the local movie industry but for Kumawood actor, Ras Nene, real name Ebenezer Akwasi Antwi, it is due to too much hatred among players in the industry.
According to him there is so much hatred in the industry that some people would even resort to juju to hurt others to get the top.
Speaking with Graphic Showbiz from his Kumasi base on Tuesday, February 18, Ras Nene told this reporter that there was no more love in the industry.
“All you see in the industry is hatred and selfishness, everyone wants to be at the top. There is so much juju in the movie industry. Hatred will take us nowhere, there is strength in unity,” he stated.
“Truth must be allowed to prevail in the industry, the envy and backbiting must all stop because it will take us nowhere. There are very few Christians in the industry and that is why we are where we are now.
“A lot of veteran actors have passed on, the likes of Super OD, Araba Stamp and S.K. Oppong have all passed on as well as younger ones like Suzzy Williams and Kwame Owusu-Ansah so let us love one another, what will you gain if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?
“There is judgement after death, we should humble ourselves so that the good Lord above who sees all things will bless us abundantly,” he said.
Ras Nene likened the movie industry to a human being who had his or her ups and downs. “It’s like a human being, you fall sick at times, lose weight and gain it back after some time. There are times you are happy and other times you are sad.
“When time changes, you also change, there are no more cassettes but there is YouTube so we need to go in that direction. The decline of the industry has happened before, when the Nigerians took over, but Agya Koo brought it back and we must applaud him for that,” he said.
Ras Nene, who has been in the industry for over a decade, said he got into it by accident.
“Friends of mine called Tutu and Daniel Adeyele tried to talk me into it but I ignored them. There was a time Tutu was on set at Buokrom and I had to go pick my keys from him. As soon as the director saw me, he said he had a gangster role for me and he was impressed with the way I executed it so that is how it all started,” he recalled.
Ras Nene said he almost gave up at the early stages of his career because the movies he shot were not being released.
“My friends started teasing me that I call myself an actor but they hadn’t seen a single movie of mine, even my girlfriend at the time asked me to look for another job but all that is history now.”
Having been in the industry for this long, one would have expected that Ras Nene would probably have a mentor or two but he tells Graphic Showbiz that he does not have one and that the only mentor in his life is Jesus Christ.
His advice to the youth is for them to live like true Christians. “Christ is coming soon, check if your life is Christ-like, don’t go naked on social media just to become popular.
“Also, since we are in an election year, let’s all be careful and not take small money from politicians to misbehave, it’s not worth it,” he concluded.