Zack Orji, Meg Otanwa, Baaj Adebule, Bisola Aiyeola, others in Payday

A crime comedy, Payday, has hit the cinemas. The 110-minute movie follows two friends and flatmates, Paul and Ortega, who, before they renew their yearly rent, lost their Landlord very suddenly, and seemingly without any heir apparent. The young men seize the unfortunate, but good opportunity to ‘enjoy’ a little.

Unfortunately, the landlord’s daughter shows up and gives the boys a 24-hour notice to pay up or quit. They embark on an overnight scheme to recover the rent leading to a dangerous encounter.

Produced by Orwi Manny Ameh, written and directed by Cheta Chukwu, the movie features actors like, Big Brother Naija runner-up Bisola Aiyeola, Baaj Adebule, comedian Ebiye Victor, Mawuli Gavor, Meg Otanwa and Zack Orji.

In the movie, Chukwu echoes the newly formed perspectives of cinemagoers in Nigeria, who are more concerned about resourceful stories rather than faces, as he rowed his boat to a totally new direction, by making use of young and talented actors in his cinema debut, PayDay.

“I want to tell African stories for not just Nigerians, but the global audience. With the success of Black Panther, the world has started paying attention to African cinema and I feel that as filmmakers, it is our duty to tell stories that are originally African to the world. Pay Day promises a story like you have never seen before; a feel good comedy and an extraordinary acting skill.”

Sharing his experience on set, Adebule, who played one of the flatmates, Paul, said that this is his first time doing comedy, adding that the set was more like an adventure to him.

“It took a lot of learning, research and patience. Interpreting comedy requires getting your timing right else your audience miss the joke. Shooting the movie however took longer than planned because sometimes planning can go wrong. We shot both in Lagos and Abuja and a lot of night shoots too, at the end it was all worth it.”