In a deeply emotional revelation, Nollywood actress and filmmaker Azeezat Shorunmu has opened up about the painful ordeal that permanently altered her voice on a movie set.
Speaking in a recent interview with Oyinmomo TV, the actress recounted how she lost her natural voice while filming the movie Apase under emotionally traumatic circumstances.
According to her, the incident happened on the very morning fellow actress Remi Surutu lost her child but production still had to continue because payments had already been made. She began:
“Everyone who knows me well in the industry knows that this is not my real voice.
“It was the time something happened. Mummy Surutu lost her child the morning we were to start shooting. And we had already paid her.”
Despite the grief in the air, the show had to go on. Azeezat pushed through the difficult shoot, carrying the weight of the tragedy on set. But it was during one emotionally intense scene, one that required her to scream with raw emotion that her voice gave out completely. She revealed:
“It was when I was shouting that I lost my voice. My voice was blocked all through that movie production.”
What she assumed would be a temporary case of strained vocal cords turned into something much more serious. Months passed, and her voice never returned to normal. The actress said she tried everything from medical treatments to spiritual remedies, including anointing oil but the damage had already been done. She continued:
“Four months passed, and it did not open. It became worse. That was when I knew that it was painful to be dumb. Especially the frustration of wanting to express oneself, but you cannot.”
Eventually, her voice returned, but not the one she had known all her life. Instead, it was a new, distinctively raspy tone that has now become her signature. Azeezat says that although the transformation was painful, her new voice has unexpectedly become part of her identity. She explained:
“By the time the vocal cord was through, it did not come out as my voice again. It became this tiny and cracked voice.
“This new voice has opened my personality to the people. People correctly guess I am the one speaking anywhere I go, even if I cover my face.”
Azeezat is also a scriptwriter and producer, with impressive credits including Return of Kesari, President Kuti, Ajayi Alaska, and Alani Ogo.
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