No Kannywood producer ever paid me more than N5000 – Ladin Cima

Ladin Cima, a famous Kannywood actress, known for her motherly roles in Hausa films, has revealed that she has never been paid above N5000 since she began her acting career fifty years ago.

In an interview with BBC Hausa on Thursday, the actress said she cant boast of having anything tangible because she was poorly paid.

She said: “I am in the Kannywood, but it will surprise you that all my time in the movie industry, I never earned beyond N5000 naira. It is always N5000 and below. I did not have enough to save and do anything tangible for myself all these years because of how poorly we get paid. Let me tell you, even before this interview, I was at a movie location, and after my recording, I was paid N2000 naira only.”

The actress said she began acting in the ’70s in Kaduna after her husband died in Kano. In the early days, she travelled to Kaduna to record the Nigerian Television Authority movies.

“My first movie was Shehu Umar, and we were not paid. So we are primarily transported to the location in Kaduna from Kano, and all we get is feeding. But because of passion, we are always excited to come to Kaduna every Friday for the recording. It was exciting then.”

Ali Nuhu, Falalu, Dorayi, react

Meanwhile, some producers, including Ali Nuhu and Falalu Dorayi, debunked Ladi’s comments after the interview.

While speaking to BBC Hausa, Nuhu said he had paid actress Ladi N40,000 in all the films she ever appears from the stable of FKD, his company.

Another producer, Dorayi, said he paid the actress between N30,000 and N40,000 for appearing in his movies.

Nazir in defence of actress Ladin

However, Kannywood singer and film producer Nazir Ahmed has responded in defence of the actress, saying all she said was nothing but the truth.

“Many actors and actresses are paid poorly in the Kannywood, especially those that act the motherly and fatherly roles.

Singer Ahmed shared a video on his Instagram page supporting the actress and called on those attacking her to desist from that.

“I did a survey myself, and the actress was right. I am also an actor and a Kannywood producer. So I know what is going on.

“The actress is right, and she said it all. She is not a kid, and she knows what she is paid. It is possible that the people assigned by the producers to pay people like her short-changed them. That is the truth. They don’t get good pay at all.

PREMIUM TIMES spoke with Hassana Dalhat, a Kannywood movie analyst, to further understand how actors are paid in the Kannywood.

Dalhat said actors are paid according to personal terms and negotiations between them and the producers.

“Generally, actors are poorly paid in the Kannywood. As somebody who has been following the industry for more than a decade, I know how actors are paid. It is basically how you agree with the producer.

“Many of them collect a meagre pay and less as N2000 per movie. However, prominent actors collect up to N500,000 per movie.”

Piracy

Although the menace of piracy is ravaging Kannywood, significant players have since resorted to Youtube.

The effect of piracy has negatively impacted the livelihood of the filmmakers and actors, but that of the production houses, cinema houses, and auxiliary staff.

In separate interviews, insiders told PREMIUM TIMES that piracy had rendered the industry to a near comatose state until concerned parties began to devise clever strategies to beat pirates in their own game.

So bad are the activities of these pirates that Kannywood producers have stopped churning films in recent years.

Many actors have also become redundant, and many who have produced movies that are yet to be released could not do so because of piracy.