Hamisha Daryani Ahuja is a multi-talented film producer, director, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and actress who has significantly impacted the Nollywood and Bollywood industries. As the founder of Forever 7 Entertainment, she has garnered global recognition for her directorial debut, Namaste Wahala, which she also executive produced. The film premiered worldwide as a Netflix Original in February 2021, making history as the first Nollywood movie to chart globally, including markets such as the U.K., U.S.A, and India.

Hamisha’s influence extends beyond filmmaking, as she has been sought after by renowned organizations such as Coca-Cola, Entrepreneurs Network, and Miss Nigeria, solidifying her reputation as a charismatic motivational speaker. In addition to her achievements in the entertainment industry, Hamisha founded and managed the award-winning Bistro 7, a chain of restaurants in Lagos, for seven years before its acquisition in January 2019.

In an exclusive interview with STATEMENT’S CEO and Founder, Areej Noor, Hamisha discussed the influence of her cultural upbringing on her filmmaking journey, the seamless transition from restaurateur to filmmaker, and her aspirations to break barriers and foster collaborations across Bollywood, Nollywood, and Hollywood.

Can you tell us about your upbringing in Lagos and how it influenced your career path specifically in film? 

I was born in India, but I moved here when I was a baby. That’s why I say I’m an Indian living in Nigeria, I would say that’s my identity. And yeah, that was a big, big influence on the film industry because as I grew up, of course, I watched a lot of Bollywood content, but so did a lot of my friends. So Bollywood has been a huge influence in Nigeria.

I mean, as much as I was living in Nigeria in Lagos, I very much had an Indian upbringing, eating Indian food at home, watching Indian content. You know, it was just my way of life. 

So while I was in the beginning stages of my restaurant, I went to this place called Awesomeness Fest, created by Vichen Lakhiani. It was on my vision board when I came across him talking. He does a lot of these motivational speeches. He was one of those, you know, “think big” people. It was TEDx meets Burning Man. Lisa Nichols was there and she’s someone I’ve always watched because I really believe in the law of attraction.  I actually flew out and trained with her in LA after Awesome Fest because I was just so intrigued by the whole situation. And so that’s when I decided to start doing my own workshop. 

So I would have these small bespoke workshops in the restaurant where I’d invite people some, you know, companies would come in, they would attend, and it almost became like a sort of like forum, because when you got in there, I mean, the kind of people that were there, so we had like people from Google, we had the head of Coke, they’d all come in, and then they’d tell me to come into their companies and start training their teams. 

So this was something that I was just doing on the side, but it just got bigger on its own. 

Truly fascinating. How does your work as a restaurateur and entrepreneur inform your filmmaking?

Food has always been a very big part of my culture in my life, and I wanted to make sure everybody is fed well. So like, for example, as my ninth year in India, I want double the food that you normally have. 

Everyone needs their energy. You know, the small things are the big things. I learned that because those are the things that sometimes did get missed. Like one missing prop or one missing costume at one point held up [production] for like five hours. And so those kinds of things. So, the people that I hired, I brought that up, I’m like, listen, do you have a backup to that? Do you have this? Can you see? So we were a lot more organized, a lot more prepared, backed up a little bit in terms of what could go wrong.

Now one of the things I didn’t do in the restaurant, which I make sure I do now, in all my sets and you can speak to anybody, even the crew, the cast, you have to meditate for two minutes before we start, before we roll camera. And we do a gratitude circle. 

Namaste Wahala was your directorial debut. What were some of the challenges you faced during the production process and how did you overcome them? 

Literally my first day on set was my first day on set ever. I went in as a complete, complete figure. I had never experienced it, but I was very open. And I think that that helped.

I would feel like producing was very overlapping and aligned with the business models in Nigeria. So that wasn’t too much of a culture shock or a shock for me because I was able to apply what I’d learned doing business in the restaurant to doing business in the movie.

But we do have to deal with things like, for example, backup generators or like NEPA just going and then, NEPA just went and then the lights and what’s amazing is the crew here, the people here know how to handle that. 

In Namaste, Wahala, you portrayed a character in addition to your role as director, how did you balance these dual responsibilities, especially given this was your first film? 

So when I told you that as a kid I always wanted to get in the film industry, it was always to act. And so I did that for that little girl, like, you know, how can I not? 

When I was chatting with the writers in the workshop, I said, it needs to be a small role. 

It didn’t turn out to be. I did learn that I was in over my head, especially on the days that I was acting, because I was playing a lot of the directed producer roles. I’d be so frustrated because I couldn’t move, because we were sort of rolling or we had to do another take and they needed the lighting and all sorted. So I couldn’t then go and be like, hey, where’s the makeup people? Or where’s costume? Or are we ready for the next shot?

As a filmmaker, how do you navigate the complexities of cultural representation and avoid stereotypes while portraying diverse characters and narratives, especially in these two meccas of representation in the entertainment industry? 

It was important that Nollywood and Bollywood came together. You may be from a different country or a different industry, but we’re equal, you know? And I think that that was very important. By no means do I want any form of feeling like one industry or one country or one culture was superior. 

I feel sometimes Lagos gets disservice in the media as a kind of place. You know Africa is not just, you know, beggars in the streets. I live in Nigeria, it’s my home. We have beautiful restaurants, we have really nice locations. And it was important for everyone to see that.

So for example, even with the mothers-in-law, when I cast both the mothers-in-law, it was very important that both are very strong women, because that is a representation of Nigeria and India, you have very strong women. 

As a female director in a male dominated industry, what are some of the challenges you’ve encountered and how do you overcome them? 

I feel like I fought that battle in the restaurant. Again, I was there for seven years, dealt with it all though. So it feels like it’s part of my past life. What’s so cool about Nollywood is there are a lot of women leaders.

There are a lot of women at the top in this industry. And actually, that’s not the case in Bollywood. So when I was there, yes, I did find it very male. I mean, my crew were majority male. But it’s taking time because people who have more experience are men. And now women are actively getting in there.

When you talk to the biggest actresses in Hollywood who worked with every director like the top one percent of actresses they always say they know when they’re on a woman set you know there’s just a lot less bs and a lot more availability for what needs to happen as a team. 

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future of Nigerian cinema? If you want to also talk about your aspirations for your place in the Bollywood canon, how do you envision your role in the trajectories of these two industries?

I think the beauty is there’s just so much potential and I want to continue doing what I’m doing. I love it. I mixed Bollywood and Nollywood together. I want to keep doing that.

I mean there’s no reason why we can’t throw in a third culture, a fourth culture. For example, next week I’m going to Kenya to a location [for my] reality show. And that’s a third culture right there. I’m so excited. There’s so many Indians living there.

We just have so much overlap and I love playing with that. And, you know, sort of having fun with the differences as well as the similarities. Hollywood as well. I do think that we’re in big need for a nice collaboration there as well. 

I want to keep sort of breaking barriers in the sense that it’s important to go big or go home. 

So finally, what advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and public speakers based on your many experiences and successes in these industries? 

[My] advice to people who want to get into the industry or who want to just do anything that they’re scared of. If you’re scared, do it anyway. 

And if you’re not scared, I sometimes think it’s not worth it. And I realize that now when something is scaring me a little, it’s more exciting. 

And I think that with that fear, the biggest learning I had is to try and switch that fear to adrenaline, because when you’re fearful of something or you’re worried, you prepare more. You’re more excited. The stakes are higher. 

Even if it’s doing one thing every day that gets you closer to your goal, do it in the night, like in the middle of the night, like something, even if it’s reading an article, just something that gets you there. 

I hire superpower people now. I’m no more intimidated by, oh my God, if you’re smarter than me, that’s not cool. I want you to be smarter than me if I hire you now, at least in the part that you’re doing, right? 

So those are the things I learned. Again, it’s a journey, but definitely go for it.

Postcards, will be released on Netflix on May 3rd. It follows the compelling stories of four individuals whose life’s journeys are filled with a rollercoaster of emotions – from joy to frustration, from grief to triumph, from love to heartbreak, and everything in between.

African animation is going through something of a golden age. In 2023, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, an afro-fusionist animated short film series produced by South African animation studio, Triggerfish, premiered on Disney+ in a major boost to the continent’s nascent comics and animation industry.  Less than a year after the groundbreaking release of  Kizazi Moto, Disney announced the long-awaited release of Iwájú, another first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Pan-African British production house, Kugali Media. 

Founded by three friends Olufikayo ‘Ziki’ Adeola, Hamid Ibrahim. and Tolu Olowofoyeku, Kugali initially started as a podcast service to discuss the African comics and animation industry. “We were interviewing different creators across Africa to understand the African creator space,” Adeola tells STATEMENT in a chat over Zoom one Monday in April. “It became obvious to us that what was needed was a company that could be a platform for African storytellers.” 

Initially focusing on creating comic books for an ever-expanding African and diaspora audience, Kugali caught the attention of Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee when she read a BBC feature about the animation studio and their ambition to “kick Disney’s arse” in Africa. Impressed by the scale of their dreams, Disney set up a line of communication with Kugali with the hopes of collaborating on a future project. 

A little over four years down the line from that bold affirmation of competing vigorously with Disney in Africa, Kugali has teamed up with the animation giant to release Iwájú, a modern animated limited series set in Lagos that pays homage to the West African city’s indomitable spirit and sets a new course for African comics and animation. 

STATEMENT spoke to the director of Iwájú, Olufikayo ‘Ziki’ Adeola, about teaming up with Disney for the series, the complexity of representing Lagos for a global audience, and the role of Iwájú as a beacon of light for African animation’s unfurling golden age. 

How did Kugali Media come about?

Kugali’s origin story dates back to 2012. We were always interested in telling local stories at a global standard with proper details. We first started as a podcast and it was just Tolu (Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku) and I at the time. We were interviewing different creators across Africa to understand the African creator space, particularly comic books and animation. It became obvious to us that what was needed was a company that could be a platform for African storytellers. That’s what Kugali was trying to be for storytellers like myself as well as the other writers, artists, and creators in Kugali. It was around that time that Hamid (Ibrahim) joined. Tolu and I went to primary school together. Hamid found our podcast online and reached out to us, he became a co-founder and the rest is history. 

There’s a famous interview you did with the BBC in 2018 where Hamid predicted that you’d compete with Disney in terms of African stories. Was there a model in place for telling those stories at that time? 

Around the time of doing that interview, our focus was on comic books. We started off publishing comic books. At that time, we were known for the Kugali Anthology which was the first pan-African collection of comics from creators across the continent. At the time, we’d done Anthology One and Anthology Two, and we were beginning to work on Anthology Three. It was around that time that we heard from Disney. Our initial thoughts were centred on the comic book model where we would create books that could be turned into movies, video games, and animation. What Disney ended up doing was providing us with an opportunity to fast-track into animation. 

How have you navigated the fast-tracking that comes with working with Disney? 

It’s been very challenging because I liken it to being thrown into the deep end. Before working with Disney, I’d never written or directed in a professional capacity on that scale. I’d written screenplays and directed some stage plays when I was in school but nothing that came close to this sort of experience. I sometimes describe it as a baptism of fire because I had to figure out my job and what was expected of me whilst learning on the job. There was also the challenge of working with a company as old and powerful as Disney because Kugali is very young; so, there was a clash of cultures. Also, when you collaborate with someone creatively, you’re going to feel strongly about some elements and your collaborators are going to feel the same way about some things so there’s bound to be creative conflict. At the end of the day, those differences help to make the result stronger and allow you to grow as a person and company. 

Can you expand on some of the cultural nuances that you knew had to be present in Iwájú? 

I think Iwájú is unique because it’s one of the few Disney animation productions that has characters talking with a different kind of accent. With a lot of Disney shows, even if they’re not set in America, there is a uniformity in how they speak. I was adamant about Iwájú being different because it was based on real-life Lagos and the people on the ground in the city even though it was set in the future. That cultural specificity and recognizability needed to be in the show. I think Disney deserves credit because there was a lot of willingness on their part to understand our culture and the way we do things but, also, as an over 100-year-old company, they have a certain framework for doing things. I know that there were questions and discussions about the way a character would speak or if they should speak Yoruba or pidgin. Ultimately, we agreed that it was the way to go forward but it did take a few conversations to get them to understand what the overall vision was. 

On the creative side of things, we had different ideas on how the plot should unfold. Sometimes I felt strongly about certain things and, other times, my co-writer (Halima Hudson) felt strongly about other things. Ultimately, I think what made its way to the script represents the best of both of us. 

When did the conversation for Iwájú start and what was the timeline like? 

The conversations for Iwájú started around 2020 but our dialogue with Disney started earlier. We were invited to pitch multiple ideas to them and Iwájú was one of the three ideas we sent in. After that process, Iwájú was then selected because it was the idea that made the most sense for a limited TV series. We knew that Iwájú was going to be the idea we worked on around March 2020 and the initial production timeline we had was fairly ambitious. The first press releases we made suggested a release date at some point in 2023 but, between the pandemic and many other things happening, the show ended up coming out in 2024. So, the whole process took almost five years. 

A high point from the show was the authentic depiction of Lagos with elements like tricycles and traffic, how were you able to capture the essence of the city?

I think there are many layers to how we were able to preserve the authenticity of the city. First of all, I grew up in Lagos and I only left Lagos when I was 15, so I have the lived experience of having been in the city for my childhood and teenage years. In addition to that, many of the artists who worked on the show are from Lagos or have lived in Lagos at some point. Even the actors helped us bring that authenticity. There would be times when I’d written a piece of dialogue but the actor reading the dialogue would say that it wasn’t natural to them or suggest an alternative to make it sound better. Those little things helped the authenticity of the series and, in addition to that, we had cultural consultants who helped us. It was a team effort at the end of the day but having people with that Lagosian experience ultimately made it very comprehensive. 

Another thing that made the series fascinating was how the story was centred around life on both ends of the city on the mainland and island, was that an idea you always knew you’d explore or did it come as you wrote?

The way I feel about stories is that I like to take different elements and have fun figuring out how they’ll fit into a larger piece. With  Iwájú for example, I knew I always wanted to write about kidnapping in Lagos. The mainland-Island divide was another ingredient that I knew I wanted to write about at least three or four years predating  Iwájú. I’ve been fortunate to visit several countries and cities and there are always higher-class and lower-class neighbourhoods but Lagos is one of the few places in the world whose geography naturally supports that socio-economic divide. I find that fascinating because those are the sorts of things that science fiction authors would invent for their work but Lagos just has that. So, even before Iwájú came up, I knew it was something I would want to explore and, when the opportunity came along, I knew it was the right time to tackle this theme. 

Historically, Nigerian and African comics and animation have not enjoyed this level of support and patronage, do you think Iwájú is going to encourage more investment?

I like to make a comparison with afrobeats because I remember when D’Banj’s “Oliver Twist” came out in 2021 and it was the first time a Nigerian song was topping the charts in the United Kingdom. From then on, it’s just been an avalanche. We’re not just big in Africa, we’re big globally and I think Iwájú is going to be the beginning of a similar trend with African comics and animation. Projects like Iwájú and Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire are the first Triple-A animated projects to have emerged from the continent, or at least [to] be created by people from Africa. The reviews have been solid and the numbers have looked strong so it shows them that people have an appetite for these stories. I believe that if we have this conversation 10 years from now, there’ll be a plethora of animated movies and shows set in Africa and defined by African culture in the same way that we saw this transformation from music from 2012 till today. 

What comes next for Kugali?

As I mentioned earlier, we started with comic books and our work with comic books is going to continue. We have a publishing deal with Disney where we are partnering with them on an imprint named Kugali Inc. Through Kugali Inc., we’ll be releasing a series of graphic novels over the next five years with the first novel coming out towards the end of this year or early next year. We are also looking at doing another project on the scale of Iwájú soon, another Triple-A animated project and we’re hopeful of making an announcement soon. 

This year, the African film and television industry shone brightly, grabbing the attention of international film festivals and their sponsors, broadening the landscape for African storytelling and its impact on the global perception of Africa. Here are some of the African films and TV shows that defined 2023. 

MAMI WATA

C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s visually captivating thriller Mami Wata is a reimagined ode to West African folklore The phrase Mami Wata directly translates to “Mother Water” and refers to the reverence and worship of water spirits. Although the film is cast in black and white, its message is still vibrant and difficult to forget, which is part of the reason why this film tops our list of favorite African cinema outputs this year. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was also Nigeria’s official entry for the Best International Feature at the Oscars next year.

GANGS OF LAGOS

Upon its release, Gangs of Lagos triggered praise, controversy, and critical acclaim The film, which delves into the intricacies of street life in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, was the world’s portal into the crime and violence in the streets of Lagos The film, which is Jáde Osiberu’s brainchild, aired on Amazon, triggering a lot of conversation about perpetuating negative African stereotypes. Overall, the carefully curated cast and riveting storyline made this film one of the most memorable this year.

AFRICAN FOLKTALES REIMAGINED

In African Folktales Reimagined, filmmakers from all over Africa collaborated to create a Netflix-friendly body of work. Although Folktales is rooted in traditional stories that pay homage to the traditions of old it is still curiously relatable to modern-day realities. The filmmakers, who hail from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Mauritania, recreate a body of work that pays homage to each of these countries while still carrying a unified stance.

ANIMALIA

In Animalia, director Sofia Alaoui explores the interwoven elements of socio-cultural norms in a world where the arrival of aliens threatens life in Morocco, namely the life of a young pregnant woman. By dabbling in elements that may seem “otherworldly,” the film captures the core of themes that may seem otherworldly while maintaining its mysterious allure.

SAINT OMER

In Saint Omer, Alice Diop gives viewers an intimate exploration into the case of a troubled Senegalese mother standing trial for the premeditated murder of her 15-month-old child. The main character, Laurence Conly,  played by Guslagie Malanda, is accused of intentionally leaving her baby on a beach to be swept away by the aggressive water waves. The poignant story is based on real-life events, with slight adaptations to make it film-friendly. The storyline is simple enough; however, the film itself, which centers around the trial, highlights that life isn’t black-and-white, and the truth can present itself in gray areas.

YOUNG, FAMOUS, AND AFRICAN

The producers of Young, Famous & African brought together the glitziest cast to highlight African opulence on a whole other level. If there ever was a cinematic output on this list that fiercely defies the age-old idea that Africa is a dormant continent with few opportunities, this is it. The show’s casting directors were on an obvious mission when they selected specific, successful personalities from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania. One of the most stand-out elements of the show is the cast’s outfits, which are carefully curated expressions of luxury. Rife with drama, camaraderie, and occasional snobbiness, the show arguably secured its spot as one of the highest-rated African programs of the year.

FATAL SEDUCTION

After an illicit affair with a younger man turns tragic, a married woman becomes skeptical about the world around her. The South African thriller stars Kgomotso Christopher, Prince Grootboom, and Thapelo Mokoena, and it is as riveting as it is compelling. Fatal Seduction captures the essence of life and all of the ways that morality can be a skewed, altered, and complex reality, especially when passion is involved.

OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL 

The psychological thriller, which premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, follows the story of Marie (Babetida Sadjo), an African refugee who leads a quiet life in a small French town, but who is reminded of her dark past with the emergence of the charismatic Father Patrick (Souleymane Sy Savane). Described as “stirring” and “a tour de force”, the film has received several awards, including Best Feature Narrative at the 2022 Indie Memphis Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Heartland Film Festival.