She’s dressed in a black body hugging short gown with a plunging
neckline. Her gown terminates just above her knees, revealing a pair of
hot long legs and ample cleavage. She throws you that charming smile
that has endeared her to millions of fans and you can’t help but notice
that engaging glint in her eyes as you take a seat next to her. The
story of Shan George in Nollywood began as early as 1996. She made her
acting debut when the late Jenifer Ossai gave her a script that landed
her a sub-lead role and N20, 000 reward. Today, Shan George, who has
starred in over 100 flicks and still counting, has emerged as one of the
most prominent faces that dominated the movie scene for most of the
late 1990s and 2000s. But controversy seems to be her middle name. From
allegedly describing actresses as prostitutes to staging an all girl
bikini parties, and to serial marriages, the actress it would seem just
can’t avoid controversies. Beyond that, light-complexioned Shan is also a
hard working mother of two boys, and with over 20 movies to her
production credits, Shan has surely come a long way. And now she is
poised to premier her new movie entitled, Finding Goodluck. In a
no-holds-barred chat with The Entertainer, Shan opens up on the scandals
that have rocked her career and disclosed that these days, she no
longer gives a hoot when negative stories are published about her. “I
concentrate on my passion and don’t bother about what people say. If you
are a TV personality and you don’t have people trying to scandalize
your name then you haven’t even started. When they come after you, it
means you’ve gone far so these days I have stopped worrying, I laugh
with them,” she declares. Commenting on her half nude pictures that
became the talk-of-the-town, she said: “It was my birthday in April. I
didn’t have enough money to do a real party because I had put so much
into Finding Goodluck. At that time I was already planning the premier,
which would cost me like N3 million. So, I called about five or six of
my girlfriends and we had a pool party. It was just an all-girl affair.
We were at the pool swimming and naturally we took pictures on our
phones. “Some people used the pictures on their DP and before I knew
what was happening, the pictures were all over the place and everybody
was saying ‘why is Shan George wearing a bikini?’ Oh, she’s too old and
so on and so forth. I couldn’t be bothered because I never knew I should
wear agbada to swim. People go to the beach in their bikinis with their
families so why should my case be different? You see, in this life,
when things happen, there are those who will see the negative side and
those who will see the positive side.” Also, one issue that continues to
trail Shan is her marital status. Many a time, pictures of her getting
married to a younger man have been published and splashed on the covers
of soft sell magazines. The indigene of Cross River States, however,
laughs as she laments: “Those pictures were from a movie entitled, Heart
Break. In the movie, there was a marriage scene where I married a
younger man. Before I knew it, stories were flying around that Shan had
divorced her husband and married a younger man. What pained me most was
that a top journalist called me to confirm and I said ‘no, I did not
remarry. I explained to him that the pictures were from a movie I just
shot. To my shock, he ran the story with the pictures on his magazine
cover that weekend!” Childhood Shan’s life’s story began decades ago
when she was born at Ediba, Cross River State, to an English father from
Manchester, England, and a Nigerian mother from the Niger Delta. Today,
she has become a Nollywood icon radiating glitz and glamour with a fan
base stretching beyond the shores of Nigeria. But once upon a time, the
actress was just a village belle who spent most of her time on the farm,
fetching water from the village stream or running errands for elders.
“I grew up in Ediba, Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State, a
very wonderful village,” she says going down memory lane. “I had my
entire primary and secondary education in that village. We had no
electricity or pipe borne water but I’ll tell you what, it was so much
fun; those who did not grow up in the village definitely missed a lot.
It was exciting, I was a bit of a tomboy; climbing mango trees, going to
the farm, fishing and swimming; it was a great experience.” However, at
just age five, when most kids begin to develop retentive memories, her
British dad who was an expatriate working in Nigeria died and so Shan,
an only daughter, was raised single handedly by her mum who did all she
could so that her little daughter could get the best out of life.
Recalling her years in Ediba, Shan says laughing softly: “When I was a
kid, I wanted to be a lawyer because I thought that would help me
correct the ills in the society. In my childish mind, I saw things that I
felt were wrong and I felt that if I read a lot of books and became a
lawyer, I would be able to correct the wrong things going on around me
when I grew up. However, I ended up behind the camera.” As a child
growing up, Shan had her own fair share of pranks. Her favourite was
plucking mangoes from a tree that had a charm or juju tied around it.
She laughs gaily as she recounts the experience: “I and my friends used
to pluck mangoes from a tree that had a talisman tied around it to scare
away people. We were not supposed to go near the tree or even pick the
mangoes that fell on the ground. However, we believed that we could
neutralize the effect of the talisman by packing a lot of sand and
telling the tree, ‘if you can count this sand we are pouring on you
grain by grain, then you can do to us the harm you were sent to do.’ And
then we took off the talisman, climbed the tree and plucked our
mangoes. When we came down we tied it back and fled; that was very
daring.” But like the popular saying goes, every day for the thief, one
day for the owner. Judgment day finally came and Shan was caught while
her friends escaped! However, for Shan, life in the village was sheer
bliss and peaceful. Despite losing her dad at age five, she never felt
his absence because in the typical African setting where she grew up,
she had many uncles and aunties who stood in for her father. “This is
Africa, no matter how bad it is, you always had a father figure around,”
she volunteers. What was it like growing up under a protective mum? “My
mum thought me humility and never to believe that I am too much and get
carried away. She taught me to always be down to earth. Those years
were fun-filled. We went to school in the morning and headed to the farm
after school to work and only came back home in the evening to listen
to folk tales before going to sleep. Sometimes, we would go to nearby
villages on Sundays to watch TV at the homes of those who could afford
vehicle batteries to run their television sets. That was when the desire
to act began to grow in me,” the actress recalls. Acting Shan hit
Nollywood in 1996 after she got admission to study at University of
Lagos. Confronted with the dilemma of paying her fees, Shan had to look
for a way of earning descent money, as she was not about to start
sleeping around. Luck finally smiled on her when she met a lady who took
her to the late Jenifer Ossai who gave her her first script and N20,
000 for her debut movie role. “Jenifer Ossai was a great woman, may her
soul rest in peace. She practically made me what I am today,” says Shan
whose first movie won her rave reviews and established her as an
emerging face on the movie circuit. “I gained admission to study at
UNILAG and I was looking for a way to pay my school fees so I met a lady
called Blessing Eremi now Mrs. Blessing Stevens who introduced me to
the industry. She said, ‘Shan, listen, I do not have money to give you
but I will introduce you to a few people and they will give you roles in
movies so you could pay your school fees’. The woman practically made
me what I am today. She took me to the late Jenifer Okere Ossai, who was
planning to do a movie, Thorns of Rose and she gave me a sub-lead role
and paid me N20, 000, which was a lot of money back then. I felt awesome
and great earning my first money.” With 16 years under her belt, Shan
has seen and done it all, and remains very passionate about her career.
According to the actress, some of the greatest challenges confronting
Nollywood are the issues of financing, marketing and distribution. My
children and I Shan’s husband and kids have been in the UK in the last
10 years while she is based in Nigeria. How is she finding time for her
family? She states: “I won’t say that they are complaining. Like my mum
would say, ‘when you say you love somebody, it means you love them the
way they are and not because they will come and change you to what they
want you to be.’ My family members have known me all their lives and no
one is complaining yet.” What about her children? “My children have
always stayed with us; me and their dad. They’ve been in the UK for over
10 years. They miss me but we try to create time for each other. We are
all grownups now. My family knows what I do for a living and they are
used to it. “My kids just love their mother. Like the saying goes,
‘don’t judge a book by its cover. You are dressed in a suit and wearing
glasses and looking like a professor. But you could be a naughty boy so
honestly; I don’t judge people by looks because they could be very
deceptive. But my kids love me just the way I am. “I was created to
entertain. I give God every minute of my life. There’s a stark
difference between how much time you give to God and how much time you
spend in church. Going to church is a totally different ball game and
being with God is totally different. You could be going to church
because you want to see the new trends in fashion or that chick you want
to pin down. Being with God is different from being in church. I put
God first in whatever I do.” Movie production Today, Shan remains one of
the few successful women moviemakers in Nollywood. What are the
challenges she faces as a female film producer? Hear her: “The first
challenge is that I am a woman. Being a woman doing a man’s job is a big
challenge. Most times you find out that you’re just one of the two or
three women among 40 men. But the men are more liberal and supportive.
The industry is male dominated but they are very cooperative and take it
easy with us women. They don’t try to intimidate us because of the
gender thing. “It’s interesting to note that there is no discrimination.
I have never experienced that in the industry. It’s not about your sex
or looks but the input you make so it’s not about whether you’ve got two
very flat boobs or two very round boobs.” In a career spanning 15
years, what would Shan say has been her highest point? She smiles as she
responds: “When I do movies that people really appreciate like Made in
Heaven, and when I win awards; these are experiences that get me very
excited and happy.” Shan insists that after 15 years, she has had no
experience that she could describe as her saddest. However, she has a
ton of advice for young girls who would want to pursue a career in
acting. “The first advice is for them to get an education because it
will give them an edge. They should believe in themselves and have some
patience. When I wanted to do Finding Goodluck, a couple of youngsters
came to me saying, ‘Aunty Shan, can we have a role?’ I gave roles to
them because I sincerely wanted to encourage them but guess what, one of
them just said ‘Aunty Shan, this role is too small, I need a role that
will make me a star overnight!’ “These youngsters should know that you
don’t become a star overnight. Only God makes you a star. You can be a
very popular actor and not be a star. It is only God that makes one a
star, God bestows it on you. You could have done 100 movies and not be
known but somebody just does one movie and is all over the place. It’s a
lot of hard work and patience.” On her music Unknown to many, Shan also
has a singing talent. A couple of years ago, she kick-started a music
career when she dropped her debut album. However, nothing much has been
heard about her singing. What is happening? “For me, music is just a
passion,” she says. “It is not a career. The free time I have on my
hands when I am not working on a movie set is what I dedicate to doing
music. Sometimes, it’s just to while away the time. Music is a hobby
while movie is business. I have done two albums already and they are in
my native language. It’s not a career.” Looking for late dad If there
was one challenge the actress has learnt to live with, it’s the fact
that she might never find her father or his family members. Four years
she has traveled to the UK and all attempts to trace his dad or family
members have failed. Recounting the experience, Shan says: “I tried
looking for my dad to be sincere. I went to MNI, the company where he
worked. I tried to look for his file but there were no records. Don’t
forget that there was a war. The total sum of it is that I searched and
searched but couldn’t get enough data to locate his family but I got
enough to know that dad was from Manchester and he came to Nigeria as an
expatriate. At a point, I just gave up. But I know who my father was. I
remember him with my five year-old eyes and mind. He died, he didn’t
abandon my mum and I.” Any regret about acting? “Not at all,” Shan says
conclusively.
No comments:
Post a Comment