Hannah Olayinka features Ibrahim Chatta, Mercy Aigbe, Damola Olatunji, others in new movie ‘Alabe’

A contemporary movie which talks about love, lust and betrayal, Alabe (Surgeon), is a story of an incompetent medical practitioner, who allowed her personal issues affect her duty as a surgeon. A film produced by actress, Hannah Olayinka, scripted by Jiboye Olawusi and directed by Damola Olatunji, who doubles as the chairman Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria, TAMPAN’s guild of directors, also stars several creative actors such as Ibrahim Chatta, Mercy Aigbe, Damola Olatunji (director), Hannah Olayinka (producer), Bolanle Ninalowo, Wale Akorede (Okunu) and many more.

Shot on the streets and metropolitan parts of Lagos, the movie has received alluring recommendations from Nollywood stars who took part in it, as they hinted the viewers of a relatable and must-watch movie for everyone. Talking on the need for such a movie at this critical time, the producer, Hannah Olayinka, who spoke with Saturday Tribune said: “we are trying to let the doctors know that aside God, we believe so much in them. We appreciate their efforts and we also want to let them realise that if they have personal issues bothering them or might affect their job, they should just attend to those issues first before attending to their patients.”

Recounting some of the challenges faced on the job because of the Coronavirus pandemic, she said: “we couldn’t get a baby to use on this set as everyone was scared of releasing their babies for us because of COVID-19. I had to ask a sister who lives at Cotonou in Benin Republic to bring her baby for us to use for our set. So it is a movie we really put our strength into.” Hannah, who played the lead role in the movie – Alabe, which happens to be her fourth production, told the viewers to expect something bigger than her most recent movie ‘Akeju Omo’.

One of the lead characters in the movie, Ibrahimm Chatta, who also spoke with Saturday Tribune described the producer, as “a focused actress one who understands why she is in the movie industry”. He also depicted the movie as deep in suspense and a movie everyone could relate to because it is about family, love and morals.

“I approach my jobs to be better than my last jobs, so expect the best from this movie, because I love family stories, and I have been featuring in similar movies these days. We also have great and gifted hands on this job, the crew members are great and the director; Damola Olatunji is a fantastic and a detailed person”, he said.

Chatta however hinted about his impending movie which would be in a military setting and would be out soon.

Mercy Aigbe, who played one of the important roles in the movie too, described it as one with a fantastic script and a very deep storyline.

“It is very entertaining, educative and at the same time, it is a relatable movie and we have a great director working on it. Damola Olatunji is someone who knows his onions when it comes to acting. In all, it is a must-watch for everyone because you cannot have the likes of Ibrahim Chatta, myself and Damola Olatunji in a movie and expect anything less,” she told Saturday Tribune.

The director, Damola Olatunji explaining how he worked on the screenplay and how well the movie was shot, described the producer as “a sister and a friend”.

He said: “When she called on me for the job, she gave me the raw story and I studied the screenplay alongside herself, Sharafa Olabode and Boye Olawusi. Hannah was flexible enough with the casting which is why we are having a fantastic production.

“This ought to be done before COVID-19 lockdown, but thank God we are back on set, even though it has not been that easy, a lot of challenges here and there because we have to play by the COVID-19 rules of keeping safe, but so far so good, we thank God.

This movie has a great storyline that will teach the viewers how to love unconditionally and I also believe everyone will love it because it is well shot. We are all putting in our best, from the least of the crew members to the cast, so the viewers should expect something great.” The movie – Alabe (surgeon) is expected to be released in August this year.

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