The movie “On Different Grounds’, produced & co-written by Nicolette Ndigwe-Kalu is set to be Nigeria’s first Nollywood-Bollywood production by a Nigerian producer with a global cast.
Nicolette Ndigwe-Kalu has gradually become an exceptional fast rising producer in the Nigerian movie industry. The award-winning young female actor, writer and producer is considered to be “one of Africa’s young female producers making an international strides” and is one of the ones to watch.
Being part of a new, vibrant crop of young talents representing contemporary African culture in the global stage, Nicolette, through her recent work, is walking her way to earn a seat in the league of producers with globally successful productions.
Since the success of her first feature, ‘Before Valentines’, which spent 43 days on the Netflix top 10 list, Ndigwe-Kalu, in a recent post on her socials, shared the cast reveal for her newest film, a romantic dramedy titled ‘On different grounds’. The story, which the producer stated she had written almost 20 years ago, boasts of an array of both veteran and young actors from Nigeria, USA/Ghana, and India.
Directed by Mildred Okwo, and co-written by writers Ink and Joy Oyediya, the family dramedy stars Ms. Earth USA 2020, Abena Akuaba, Bollywood superstar, Vineet Raina and veteran Nimesh Diliprai, Nollywood stars Ifeanyi Kalu, Uche Montana, Nkem Owo, Jennifer Eliogu and many more.
The movie will also see the return of Nollywood heavyweight, Bob-Manuel Udokwu to the big screen.
Details of the project remain largely under wraps, however the film is said to follow the story of a prominent Nigerian family in the wake of a family wedding.
Through her production company ‘Half a buck & a quarter Impressions’ (HB&Q Impressions Studios)
Ndigwe-Kalu is said to be working on a slate of four international films between 2023 and 2025, some of which have been fully funded. The release of ‘On Different Grounds’ will mark a new milestone for her
production company as this will become the first Nollywood/Bollywood cinematic fusion from a Nigerian producer and director.
Nicolette said, ‘the movie, ‘On different grounds’ is my way of fostering culture cohesion through art and letting the world know that we are all more alike than we are different”.
She added, “This movie is going to be one that every age and every culture will enjoy as well as to showcase the beauty of a proper Nigerian wedding’.
The star-studded blockbuster movie “On different grounds” also stars Nigerian actors, like Uche Jombo, Bambam Adenibuyan, Ebele Okaro, Jennifer Eliogu, Aproko doctor and many more.
Speaking on her choice of Okwo to direct the global film, Ndigwe-Kalu stated ‘there aren’t many directors like her who would understand the nitty-gritty of the kind of story I wanted to tell and bring the nuanced traditional African heart of it to life’.
Nicolette Ndigwe-Kalu who is also the Executive producer of the film, made her foray into the world of professional filmmaking at age 16, writing and acting in 2011 blockbuster, ‘Damage’. At 22, she had written over 30 scripts and won several awards including the Best Of Nollywood Award for her work in ‘Damage’. Her first short film, ‘Anave’, an advocacy short film fully funded by Sterling Bank, fought against maternal and child mortality attributable to malaria.
Her first feature, ‘Before Valentines’ became Netflix’s second most-watched Nigerian film for H1-2023 and garnered several international nods including Best Film at The Gold Film Awards in Milan, Italy. It also got selected for several festivals including The Black Film Summit in Illinois, USA. This was the start of her converting her written scripts into screen gems. Nicole also directs and has acted in many productions, reinforcing her as one of Nollywood’s most bankable talents.
Nicolette, the on-screen film luminary has transcended the acting and writing booth to making her works gradually becoming the viewers choice. Her artistic ingenuity in recent times has earned her a reputation for being a revolutionary and trendsetting force in the Nigeria movie industry.
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