•Ruth Maingi
Kenyan leading actress Ruth Nulu Maingi, who has just starred in her second Nollywood movie, “PlayBack”, produced by Lancelot Imasuen continues to express her gratitude to her creator for making her dream come true.
It has always been Maingi’s dream to break into the Nigerian movie industry, and since 2018, she made her debut in Nollywood, starring also in Lancelot Imasuen’s movie, “Family First’, alongside Monalisa Chinda-Coker, IK Ogbonna among others, the Kenyan actress hasn’t stopped craving for more roles in Nigerian movies.
Her third Nollywood flick, “Daddy”, a short film which is due to be released soon, is another mind-blowing flick that will definitely solidify the place of the east African actress in the Nigerian movie circuit.
“Play Back” starring Lancelot himself, Grace Bassey, Desmond Elliot, Ruth Maingi among others was released last week, on Lancelot Imasuen’s YouTube Channel. And the film is already garnishing millions of views in less than two weeks of its release.
Maingi, an actress, dancer and voice-over artiste, said it had been her dream to break into Nollywood, since she made her acting debut in 2009, after landing a lead role in the TV series; “The Team.”
The pretty actress, who studied Dance and Movement at Kenya Performing Arts School, said she fell in love with Nollywood because of the way its stories are told authentically.
“I admire how they take their crafts seriously and how they work so hard to keep their industry growing. I also admire how Nigerians support the industry and encourage the cinema culture in the country,” Maingi said in a WhatsApp chat with NollyNow.
On how the Kenyan movie industry has evolved over the years, the actress said that the industry was growing in leaps and bounds when compared to the past years.
“It has moved from doing two films a year to doing over ten in a year. We have had an OSCAR nominated movie, “Watu Wote” Also, we are beginning to cultivate the cinema culture in our country, the actress explained.
An ambassador of ‘The African Film Festival, TAFF, Maingi has featured in over 40 films, including over six films in the Africa Magic Original Films Series. She is also the lead Actress in the original Mama Duka Drama Series which won the AMVCA Award for Best Indigenous Original TV Series/Film East Africa in 2014.
