Gangs Of Lagos: Why I Drank Two Plastic Herbal Bitters Within The Space Of Two Minutes -- Tobi Bakre

 

The 'Gangs of Lagos' movie has been trending on the public space now with accolades generally coming for the piece of art.

Popular Actor, Tobi Bakre, who played the role of Obalola in the movie has revealed he had to take in strong alcohol to perfectly deliver the lines.

 Obalola in the movie is a street king who had a very traumatic childhood that left him with emotional scars.

Tobi while recounting his experience while playing the character, said that it was a challenging role for him because he had to tear down his mental walls and be vulnerable.

Tobi, who was a Big Brother Naija Housemate revealed that as guys, they build walls and prepare for sad outcomes in life, but in this movie, he had to be vulnerable and emotional.

 Tobi said that he drank two plastic herbal bitters within five minutes and listened to sad music, including the emotional song ‘Celia’ by Tiwa Savage. 

While explaining that he was not trying to fake his emotions, he said he needed to be actually sad and in the scenario of the character.

“For “Gangs of Lagos’, that was challenging because like for the first time… you know as guys now, we build so many walls like you are ready for all the possible sad outcomes in life mentally. Like you don’t know it but… I was now playing the role of a strong guy but then in the same movie, he had moments when he had to be vulnerable. Bro, I had the toughest time. I had to tear my walls down.

“You know those plastic [herbal bitters] drinks na? I drank two within the space of five minutes. I just felt like I drank water because I didn’t feel anything. I was listening to the saddest music. This is the song I always remember from Gangs of Lagos, the Celia song by Tiwa Savage. It is a very emotional song. I wasn’t trying to fake it [my role]. I needed to be actually sad, I needed to be there. So, I was putting myself in the scenario of this character.

“I was self-reflecting. There was a graveyard right in front of where we were shooting. So my head was in different places.