BENJAMIN NJOKU
Two things are bound to attract you to Monalisa Chinda whenever you
are privileged to engage her in a conversation. They are her frankness
and humility. These attributes played out last week as Showtime
Celebrity took her on a trip into her past, her present and perhaps,
her future. For the first time, Lisa bares her mind on a number of
issues bothering on her love life, crashed marriage and
accomplishments.Chiefly, she confirms that she has found love again,
not ruling out however, the possibilityof giving marriage a second
chance. Enjoy!!!
Find love again
Do you still believe in love ?
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Monalisa Chinda
I believe in love. Love is the reason for our existence. It's really
not enough if you want to get something done, you have to do away
with that emotion and be real.
Are you religious?
I'm from a religious background. I 'm an Anglican and all the moral
teachings I learntwhile I was growing up are still there till date.
While I was seven, I was a member of my church choir . I attended an
Anglican school, Archdeacon Memorial Grammar School, it's a convent
school. I'm quite religious.
How did you feel when your father was murdered?
Every day that passes by, I think of that man.God bless his soul. He
was the reason, I'm doing what I am doing at the moment. My late dad
was a philanthropist. He would giveout the last money in his pocket to
those who do not have. I took after my Dad, whereas my mum was a
career woman.
My dad ensured that his children were well taken care of, in all
ramifications. He was a good cook and he spent greater part of his
life in Germany. As far as I'm concerned, my dad was a German. He was
always in the forefront of ensuring that his children were well
catered for. But my mum was a career woman before she retired.
We learnt that you are planning to go into marriage again. Is it true?
I would love to remarry. In fact, I'm designedto be under a man. I'm
not going to lie that I like this 'single mother nomenclature. But
whereby there is no one at the moment, oneis bound to get used to the
situation. It's not a 'do- or -die affair' because I have been there
before, anything I'm going to do now,it has to be done right.
I'm not in the school of thought, where the first one happened and
perhaps, the second one. No, any bold step I have to take in settling
down again, it has to be right. I'm not ready to make another mistake.
But I will definitely remarry. I believe in the principles of
marriage. Whether you like it ornot, marriage is a better option.
How soon are you planning to settle down?
I honestly don't know about that, and I can't tell for now.
Have you found love again?
It's neither here nor there. I'm a lover and I love to love.
It was rumoured recently that you have found love again?
Is there anything wrong with that? I just replied you that I love to
love. What else do you want to know.
Your fans would want to know if there is any man in your life at the moment?
Yes, there is a man in my life.
…Lanre Nzeribe right?
No comment. This is my private life.
People are alleging that you are pregnant for him?
You can see that I'm not pregnant. Naturally, I'm not pregnant for anybody.
What do you regret most about your past?
One thing I regret most is the fact that I am divorced. Where I come
from, I'm the first daughter. I'm from a royal family, it has never
been on record in my family that the first daughter will walk out of
her matrimonial home. But it was a matter of life and death,
otherwise, I would have stayed back and make my marriage work. I
tried to make it work, but it takes two people to tango.
That's the only thing I regret, having to raise my child without the
father. It's a bit painful.But I have to live with it. It's better
that way than to expose my little daughter to all sorts of domestic
violence. It will definitely disorient her and affect her upbringing.
She will be dis-functional. God knows the best. May be, I should have
been more careful.
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Monalisa Chinda
With such shocking experience, what would you say life has taught you?
I' m a bit stronger and wiser now than before. I have known how not to
get involved in anything emotional again. If you are emotional even
in a relationship, you don't get to think. One shouldn't allow her
emotion to overrule her sense of reasoning.
I have understood what it means to be patient to persevere and also,
to be careful with people around me. If somebody aroundyou is your
very good friend, you end up finding that the person is actually an
enemy in disguise. I have learnt all of that because Ihave been alone.
While my marriage was intact, I was not keeping friends. After I'm
through with my work, I usually retire to myhouse. But since I'm
alone, and having to mixup with a lot of people, I have realised that
Ihave to be very careful and free-minded andat the same time, be
myself.
In the midst of all these challenges, what would you say has kept you going?
I'm a very strong woman, and open-minded.I know who I am. I'm a Godly
person, but I'm not a perfectionist. If I do something wrong, I will
always find a way to show remorse and repent of whatever sin I might
have committed. That has kept me going. I'm highly determined and
focused. I do not go by what people say about me.
If your ex- comes back to you today, will you accept him again?
God forbid. He's a closed chapter in my life.
Does it mean your little daughter is not missing her father?
She doesn't know her father . She was barely a year when our marriage
crashed. I think she will ask some day.
Share your experience with us as a Glo ambassador?
It has been rewarding for me. Activities always come up here and
there, going around, talking about the brand. Glo has made a long
lasting mark in the country.
How do you describe yourself?
I'm just the girl-next-door. I don't have manyears around me, I try to
be humble. I want people to be able to reach out to me. I'm not a
difficult person. I'm an easy-going lady.
You recently premiered your latest movie, Weekend Getway, What's the
movie all about?
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Monalisa Chinda
First of all, the premiere was successful. I thank God for that. A
lot of people turned out to show their support. The movie was produced
by myself ,Ini Edo and Emem Isong. It was directed by Desmond Elliot.
It paraded A-list actresses, both young and old ones in the industry.
We had to create a platform where up and coming actors star alongside
seasoned actors which made the film more unique. The movie is already
selling out in the cinemas. Between last Friday when it was premiered
and yesterday( last week), we have made substantial amount of money
from the box office alone. I also acted in the movie.
What are your recent movies?
Kiss &Tell which was produced in 2010 but premiered in 2011. My second
movie, Cat Walk was shot in 2010, but premiered in February, 2012.
My third movie, Weekend Getway, premiered forth-night ago.
Why did you go into production of movies?
Producing has always been at the back of my mind as an actress. In
fact, I should speakthe minds of a lot of people who are in the art.
They want to diversify and break new grounds and to also show the
various thingsthey can do. Naturally, we all want to try our hands in
other things as long as it's within the genre of entertainment.
That's the reason I wanted to do something different. Right now, I'm
even going into live theatre which is already dying in this country.
Thespians like myself and a few other people are trying to revive the
dying live theatre culture in the country.
Was it why you staged a dance-drama, "Dance for Life' last December?
Yes, because the first outing was actually sponsored by myself. That's
why I want to see how I can get corporate bodies to partner with me
for the the second edition of the dance project which I want it to
come up on May29.
Do you dance?
As a Thespian, we all do the three arms of theatre including Dance ,
Music and Acting. These are the three arms of theatre, so you must be
able to do the three and then, specialize in one.
Last December outing, was it the first time you actually involved in dance ?
Yes, it was the first time I would dance in public. I've never done
that before in my life. I only danced while I was in the university.
As an artiste, we were involved in all sorts ofperformances way back
in school.
How did you feel that fateful day?
I had mixed-feelings because of the massiveturn-out of celebrities.
Again, it was becauseof the fact that a lot of people enjoyed
themselves and they didn't want to go homeagain. So, I was in between
rolling myself on the floor with tears of joy and also, praying that
this kind of dance project should continue. It was a divine feeling.
Did the project actualise your dream of reviving live theatre in Nigeria?
Yes, I've always wanted to do exactly that. I've always wanted to
find an opportunity torevive the dying live theater in the country.
People look at dance as a non-productive act, but I don't think so
because dance is even more vigorous than acting. You have tolove the
art, love theatre and singing before you can be able to have a grasp
of the message. The performer on stage is trying to understand the
message being put acrossthrough dance.
Since you delved into movie production what has been your challenges?
It's been a good experience, and also, knowing that I'm getting
older, I need to step aside for the emerging actresses to excel. But
even at that, it's really difficult forthem. I think some of the fresh
actresses are joining Nollywood for different reasons and probably not
for the love of the industry. They just have this silly idea that if I
hit the screen, people would see me and like my face as well. It's not
done like that.
If you call for an audition today, and about four thousand people show
up, you will be shocked to find out that not up to five of them have
what it takes to be an actress. The five people would have rigorous
screening before they are able to deliver their lines. That also is a
very big challenge. That's why we keep recycling a lot of knownfaces
even when we are getting older and tired. We still try to look slim
and young, competing favourably with the younger ones.
Do you intend to go solo in your next movie?
Yes, I will like to go solo in my next movie just to see what it's
like not wanting to do the movie with anybody else. But I will still
engage seasoned directors to direct my movie. But I want to be the
solo financier and solo producer o f my next movie. That will happen
before the end of this year.
We learnt you are planning to launch a perfume line?
Yes, I've already started and I'm planning todo a launch of the
perfume in future. The product is called Monalisa Mcold Beauty
Products. That's the brand name I'm using for now. I have a factory
outside Lagos where the fragrances are produced. They took samples of
my skin to test if the products are good for human consumption. We are
producing body cream, age defining hand creams, body mix for men and
women and soap.
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