Kunle Makinde Tokunbo popularly called Dejo Tunfulu is one of the few artists that master funny character in movie, he has featured in many movie and has written many some as well. In this interview with Alarinka Agbaye recently he spoke about his life and how he was excited getting N50 pay for his first appearance in movie.
Why do you choose to
play funny character in movies
I developed the character
right from my school days when i was in secondary school i joined
entertainment society and i have a friend
Sefiu Iman, he is a stamarer so i
do imitate him and gradually it became
talent and part of men,
Lets have an insight into your background
I am kunle Makinde
Tokunbo, i was born in Lagos Island, brought up in Lagos island but I am an
indigene of Ikija, Abeokuta in Ogun state. So i started my education from Answarudeen
Primary school Ereko Lagos Island from
there to Dolphin high school Lagos Island
from there to Modern way Nigeria school of printing before we end
everything on theatre
When
exactly did you start acting?
I started from my
secondary school around 84 / 85
How has it been so far?
It has been wonderful both on the positive and the negative
side, i really enjoy it I thank God for keeping me and granting me the talent
Do you
play other serious character?
Yes, i played normal
role in Adufe, which i wrote, i played normal role in Asa written by Ibrahim
Chatta and some many more and i enjoy playing it as well but not as the funny character
How many people have you participated in?
My brother, i can’t count, they are so many
How much were you paid in your first appearance?
I was paid N50 naira,
What was your feeling then?
Full movie then was
N5000 Naira so how will i feel, i feel great for them to pay me N50 naira, so i
feel great and i was glad.
You first appearance in movie, Tele and stage
,My first appearance on television was Apere
Ijongbon by Kolawole International theatre group Akuko Gagara, around 87 my first appearance on movie was in the first home video in Nigeria and that is Aje ni iya mi, where i played a
minor role because in that play someone just called me “ Dejo se ohun e ti la and i answered him” that all and people loved that
role
Have you ever produced or written any films
Yes i’ve produce many
film, lets start from my first movie Eja Ojiji, i produce Tori Ife, Aya Rere,
Owo Omago, bom Boy, kofoworola, Ero ibanisaroro BRF Babajide Raji Fasasi, and
the coming one Oponu Meta.
Do you feel
embarrassed outside when people called you Dejo
I am two in one, my name is kunle and at the same time Dejo
so there is nothing bad in its my name,
even there are some of my friend
that don’t know my real name, they know
me to be Dejo so dejo has been part of my name
You are a certified printer and rather than
continuing with your printing Job you face theatre, who groomed you, who is
your teacher
I was trained in my
area where there are many television
stars like Abeni Ajagun, Madam Saje, Ajirebi , Baba Balogun, Ateyepe, so
they live in my area and from there i
became part of them and they groomed me
so later when i went to secondary school i joined entertainment society
from where i picked up things
How old are you
I am close to forty
Are you married?
Married before but
now single kid
What happend to your marriage
Personal
Do you still intend to remarry?
Of course yes
How do you handles
female fans
They are all my
friends and we relate as one
Sometimes ago it was
rumoured that you are planning to relocate to abroad with your kids how through
is that
Me abroad, that’s not
true
Do you have any plan of leaving the shores of
Nigeria without coming back?
No, Nigeria is my
father’s land, i can be going there and coming but no plan to stay permanently
Are you enjoying what you are doing in Nigeria?
Yes, you cannot
because you don’t like your family and decided to align with another family your family is your family, Nigeria situations
for actors and actresses is not friendly, but we have to endure and pray to God
to make entertainment industry in general to move forward, we should go up like Hollywood and Hollywood
What do you think can be done by the government and corporate
organization to make the industry grow?
You see in the
entertainment industry we need government, cooperate organization and
individual support, we have been saying this for long time but nobody is
responding as expected which is discouraging
Why do people in the entertainment industry always look forward to
government patronage and not individual and companies?
Just like i told you
we need everybody to work with us to make the industry grow including you, we
are not looking at government alone we
need everybody
You happiest moment in life
My happiest when was
that o, when i sat with Gov .Mimiko, Professor Wole Soyinka at the airport
hotel at Joe Odumakin Birthday?
The most embarrassing moment
Ehn let me see, ok
when i die you can come and ask my corpse
How do you want your new wife to be and what qualities must she possess
She must be caring and good as a woman, be responsive to her
duties and responsibilities at home, as per size and colour, o don’t have any
specification Gbogbo ejo ni jije
What advice do u have for the younger one i
mean the upcoming artists?
Well they should be
prayerful and hardworking. That is the only thing that can do it, prayer is much
more important and they should be focused.
