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Ghanaian actor, Mr Beautiful, has blamed former President John Agyekum Kufour for contributing to the collapse of the movie industry in Ghana.
“When President Kufour assumed office he collapsed the Concert Party,” Mr Beautiful told Agyeman Prempeh on Power Entertainment on Saturday, June 13.
According to the actor christened Clement Bonney, an appointee of the former president led to the fall of the once vibrant industry.
Although he maintained that Ex-President Kufuor himself loved the locally produced movies and would’ve wished to see it prosper, he said his wrong choice of person to head the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC) collapse the film industry.
Mr Beautiful, who starred in the Keysoap Concert Party alongside Mercy Asiedu, Akrobeto, Kyeiwaa, Agya Koo among others which aired on state-owned GTV said Concert Party need to be revived.
Comparing the movie industry to a football team, he said, “You see every football team without academy suffers. Look, Kotoko, Hearts of Oak they have no football academy – they suffer. When President Kufour assumed office he collapsed the Concert Party. He himself loved our movies, but, he never knew he’s the one who destroyed the Concert Party when he appointed the late Eva Lokko to GBC”
The only sponsor Concert Party had was Lever Brothers. Eva increased the rate for airtime when she assumed office. Lever Brothers had to pay twice the initial amount. They pulled out, Concert Party was without sponsor, so, it collapsed — it fed the movie industry with actors,” he asserted.
Speaking on the Power Entertainment show Mr Beautiful also denied endorsing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flagbearer John Dramani Mahama affected his acting career.
“Honestly speaking, if anyone tells you joining the NDC is the reason I’m not featured in movies, it’s untrue – they’re lying, it’s not true,” Mr Beautiful said.
“I had an altercation with most movies producers in Kumasi because I told them insults like animal, stupid, you’re a fool, leave there. It’s normal in Kumasi, It is not an insult to them. It’s fun. Contrary, when you come to our part of the south and the north. It’s an insult. I confronted them [movie producers] about it. There was a time Ghanaians in the disapora, especially the educated ones, at least University graduate, stopped their children from watching the local movies because it was full of strong language. It was too much. I spoke to them so fought they fought me,” he explained.
“At another point they asked me to speak Twi. I disagreed. I’m a typical Fante man so whatever you do I will speak my Fante. So, if for the sake of Twi, I gave them their script.We shot ‘Ama Ghana’. It won many hearts. Along the line, they gave me ‘Akua Agege’ when I read the script it was a remake of the Ama Ghana movie. I expressed my displeasure about it and opt out of the movie.
The only time they saw me sharing a podium with His Excellency John Mahama they used that as a yardstick — ‘We Kumasi people are NPPs if you’re an NDC people won’t patronize your movies. So, we won’t feature you again,’” Mr Beautiful recounted.
Mr Beautiful is married to Belinda Gharbin with whom he has three adorable daughter.
He is known for movies such as ‘Ama Ghana,’ Made in London,’ among others.
Source:Ghana/myxyzonline.com/93.1MHz
