Ghanaian actress Christiana Awuni has said she backs calls for government to place an “embargo” on the broadcast of telenovelas, arguing that it posed a threat to the movie industry.
According to her, it is even more shameful when such telenovelas, especially those from India, are translated into Twi to woo patrons into getting hooked.
Ms Awuni’s comments follow the recent invasion of telenovelas on Ghanaian television.
Speaking on Entertainment Capital on Accra100.5FM, the actress told show host Bismark Boachie (DJ Premier) that telenovelas were killing the local film industry.
“Which Indian will come and purchase a Ghanaian movie and take it back to India and translate it into Hindi? It won’t happen. So this means we do not even respect ourselves because it means we value their movies and telenovelas more than we do ours. That is why we spend money to bring those movies into the country to destroy our movie industry,” she lamented.
According to her, telenovelas have led to a lot of fight in some marriages and in some cases divorce. “Women are addicted to it and instead of cooking for their husbands, they don’t, which has led to many divorces… I will support government to place an embargo on them. Their culture is not our culture and they are destroying our work as movie makers,” she added.
She advised that if Ghanaians were not enjoying Ghanaian movies because they perceived it as substandard, then stakeholders, including television stations, would need to invest in the industry to make it better and stop showing telenovelas.
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