Gone are the days when Genevieve and Omotola were Nollywood’s most prominent actresses. They were at par with each other and all the rest were below them as they were indisputably the best, just like football superstars, Ronaldo and Messi, are undisputedly above their colleagues.
But they fizzled out about four or five years ago, and Nollywood has not been the same since then. Though Mercy Johnson tried after them to make Nollywood sparkle, just like Funke Akindele, Tonto Dike and a few others have continued to strive, the sector is still lacking the X-factor Genny and Omosexy had.
Now, Omotola is making a gradual but steady comeback. Unexpectedly, last year, she returned to the big screen as the lead character of Alter Ego, a movie on sexual molestation, which is still generating a lot of buzz.
She’s also the lead in The Island, a TV series, a lead in the Kunle Afolayan-produced albinism advocacy flick, The Tribunal. With these major roles in her kitty, you can be sure more will come her way as she’s still a fan-favourite and a box-office attraction far and above the current crop of actresses.
But when you talk about Omotola, you must talk about Genevieve. Again, just like Ronaldo-Messi, one is nothing without the other.
When they both dropped out of the reckoning of Nollywood producers, Genny still made more moves than her arch-rival to remain relevant. She produced and starred in the mildly successful Road To Yesterday and was also in Half Of A Yellow Sun.
Inevitably, she faced the reality that the producers were no longer demanding for her and since her rival wasn’t faring better, maybe that gave her the moral to accept that fact so she should also back out.
Recently, the news about her was that she had gone behind the camera as a director and had directed the production of Lion Heart. Marriage rumours are also trailing her, but they are not concrete yet.
But now that Omotola is making a comeback, will Genny still be contented to stay behind the camera, out of the limelight? Will she be unperturbed that Omotola is getting the acting-related headlines while she’s not?
In the perennial battle between her and Omotola, which never really made them see eye-to-eye in their bid to be the true dominant actress in Nollywood, will she allow Omotola to win the comeback battle?
Your guess is as good as mine.