Veteran actor and filmmaker Muka Ray has reflected on his early start in the Nigerian movie industry, revealing that he was among the first generation of child actors in the old celluloid film era. He said he played Adelove’s son in the classic film Taxi Driver and also appeared in Kadara and Jayeisimi.
Ray explained that his career later evolved after the death of his father. He said that while there were no home videos during his father’s time, he became part of the young actors who helped pioneer the home video movement that eventually shaped Nollywood.
He said he looked up to the late Alade Aromire, whom he credited as one of the first to realise that movies could be shot on video and still be projected on the big screen. According to him, that discovery changed how films were made and shown, opening the door for wider distribution.
Ray recalled that his first movie as a producer was titled Dukia and was shot in December 1989, a few months after his father died in April of that year. He noted that the production cost just N2,500 at the time and was completed in a single day, illustrating how modest and fast early video shoots were compared to today’s standards.
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