Ego Obaro, Yomi Fash-Lanso, Scarlet Gomez speak on their roles in ‘Wura’

On the 26th of January, streaming platform Showmax pulled off another first with the launch of ‘Wura’, a Nigerian Telenovela series.

With 200 episodes, ‘Wura‘ is a Nigerian telenovela series that tells the story of an ambitious and ruthless CEO of a gold mining industry who would stop at nothing to protect her company and those she loves.

It is run by Wura-Amoo Adeleke, a perfect wife, a loving mother of two and, in a twist, the ruthless Chief Executive Officer of the fictional ‘Frontline Gold Mine’.

The series is touted to become the longest-running Nigerian telenovela.

It features veterans and fast-rising stars like the lead Scarlett Gomez, who plays Wura Amoo-Adeleke, Yomi Fash-Lanso, who plays Anthony Amoo-Adeleke, and Nollywood veteran Carol King stars as Grace Adeleke in the series.

Other cast members are Ray Adeka as Jejeloye “Jeje” Amoo, Iremide Adeoye as Lolu Adeleke, Ego Iheanacho as Iyabo Kuti, Martha Ehinome as Tumininu “Tumi” Kuti, and Lanre Adediwura as Olumide Kuti.

In an Exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Ego Obaro, Yomi Fash, and Scarlet Gomez shared their experience on the movie set whilst giving an insight into their roles.

Ego Ogbaro

Nwakaego Ihenacho Ogbaro, known professionally as Ego, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Ego has recorded songs such as “Konko Below”, “Nothing for You”, and “Never Far Away.”

The singer, who was famous for working with Lagbaja and his band, spoke about why she took the role of Iyabo Kuti in Wura.

“First of all, it was a challenge, and I was up for the challenge; the opportunity came, and I saw something in that character,r, and I felt I could pull it off, and I connected with that character.

I did my research, and I sat down and believed in myself that I could do it,” she said

“It was tough at first, I had my doubts, but I had great people around me who helped me to stand those first few weeks,” she added.

She also disclosed that she had no input into the movie’s soundtrack.

In 2007, Ego left Africano to pursue a solo career and later formed the Indigo band. Since leaving Lagbaja’s band, she has collaborated with Sunny Nneji, Djinee, Tosin Martins, Ayanbirin and Blaise.

Yomi Fash Lanso

Yoruba Nollywood actor Yomi Fash played the role of Anthony in the Telenovela series.

Giving more insight into the character, he said, “I’m Playing Anthony, a commissioner of police in Osun state, a family man who loves his wife to a fault and is ready to protect his wife. At the same time, he has to take care of the state security wise, keep it free from hoodlums and sort.”

Explaining why this role is slightly different from his typical roles in movies, he said, “This is not a deviation in totality because I have done something similar before; this is a man who loves his family very much, who jumps on his wife like no man’s business, it’s quite different from the ones I’ve played, there’s a character build in this one.”

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He also explained why the 200-episode-long series did not bore him out.

He said: “it has to do with the storyline; it centres around the community; it has to do with mineral resources, the crimes committed, the insecurity in the place, in the community and the characters involved.”

“You have a woman who heads a corporation and is ready to do anything to sustain her quest for material things and happens to be the wife of the commissioner of police in that state.”

“On its own, it is a series that would keep people seated at the edge of their seats; it would keep people demanding to see the next episodes.”

Speaking about working on a Showmax project, he said it felt excellent working on a world-class project that projects Nollywood’s growth.

He said: “As a commercial actor, a series takes time and a lot of commitment. But this is worth the time. Then again, I got informed that it is an international project that will be screened on Showmax, and I got even more excited.”

Scarlet Gomez

Scarlet Gomez is a Nigerian singer and Actress known for her roles in Mnet’s ‘My Flatmates and WAP TV’s ‘The other side’.

Scarlet, the lead character n the Telenovela series, Wura, revealed that was her first significant role as a lead actress.

Speaking on the challenges, she said playing a woman in her mid-forties was initially quite tasking.

“The age difference was a significant challenge for me, having to have the mind of a 45-year-old with two kids; I mean, I don’t even have one, I don’t know what to do with children, and then I had to learn how to become a mother and then become a provider, become a criminal, a murderer and all of that, because for you to create a character, you’d have to merge that characters life.

“So I had to get to a point where I’d have to meet the part, and I started making up for my excesses and not starting to think the way she would think and react the way she would react.”

The actress who won the Miss United Nations Tourism pageant in Kingston, Jamaica, in December 2012, claimed that the character is almost a part of her daily life.

She said, “In fact, I felt like a bit of Wura slipped into my real life; they can attest to it. Im not even joking; there were times when I got to set, and I was talking to my husband, and the next thing he said was why do you sound insensitive.”

“No one knew the emotions I was feeling on set. Only my husband knew; God bless his soul. He would call me every day to ensure that I was fine.”

“For the past few months, I’ve had to reinvent myself to make sense of myself, and when I’m off set, some people still treat me like Wura, so there is no time, really; I get the point everybody is overworked, and everybody is shouting, but sometimes it’s just challenging, most times, I just want to relax and be taken care of,” she added.