Nigerian actor Samuel Abiola Robinson, who recently starred in the Malayalam film Sudani From Nigeria, alleged that he has been a victim of racial discrimination. Taking to social media, the 19-year-old actor, who is a popular actor in Nollywood, said that while he didn’t face racial discrimination violently or directly, he believes the producers had exploited him by paying less than Rs 5 lakhs for his lead role, a sum much lesser to what newcomers usually get paid (Rs 5-15 lakhs).
While he spoke up about his experience, he, however, does not have any grouse with his director, Zakariya.
“I am of the opinion that this happened purely because of my skin colour and the assumption that all Africans are poor and don’t know the value of money. The director and writer Zakariya did his best to help but as he was not financing the movie himself, there was very little change he could foster. Zakariya is a good guy with a good heart and a brilliant director,” he wrote.
The actor further gave a timeline of his work in the project.
“I believe the promises were simply tools of manipulation to get me to eagerly commit the five months of availability for work being October, November, December 2017, January and March 2018 for the shoot and promotion of the movie.”
He has even included some proof of his email discussions with respect to what he was paid.
Soon after his post, he had to put out another post reiterating his statements. “I consider this particular treatment to be racial discrimination because even the least experienced Indian new comer in Malayalam industry would be paid considerably more than what I was which would go a long way to cushion the sudden and intense popularity precipitated by a big budget movie’s publicity,” he added.
Read his full post here:
Producers deny racial discrimination:
Responding to Robinson’s allegations, the producers, Sameer Thahir and Shyju Khalid, have reportedly denied any sort of discrimination. “Samuel’s allegations are prompted by what we consider as his misinterpretation of certain false information provided by some sources. We gave Samuel mutually-agreed remuneration, we are able to take a decision on sharing the prizes, only after the yields return and the accounts are settled. It is distressing and a cause of self-contempt for us that racist undertones or interpretations are attributed to this,” they said in their official statement.
Feature Image: Filmibeat
