Nigerians love Bollywood: Namaste Wahala director Hamisha Daryani Ahuja

Hamisha, the director of the Indo-Nigerian film, Namaste Wahala, which is currently streaming on Netflix, talks about the film, her career, and more

Hamisha Daryani Ahuja has donned many hats over the years–that of an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker, an author… But a decade ago, when she launched her restaurant Bistro 7 in Nigeria, could she have dreamed that she would eventually make a Bollywood-style Nollywood film? Typically, filmmakers say no, but the dreamer that Hamisha always has been, she says yes. And now, this dream project is streaming on Netflix.

Excerpts from a conversation…

Tell us about how you turned filmmaker.

I have been an entrepreneur my whole life. We came to Nigeria and started a businesses here. After seven years of running my restaurant, Bistro 7, I decided it was time to do something new. I am a motivational speaker as well, and I spoke about ‘Dreaming Big’ sometime ago. When you speak about such topics, you begin embodying them. So, I decided to sell my stake in the restaurant and with the additional time I got, I decided it was time to go after the big dream: filmmaking.

What was the inspiration behind doing a cross-cultural film like Namaste Wahala?

Like many Nigerians, I am a major Bollywood buff. In fact, Nollywood (Nigerian film industry) has taken a lot of inspiration from Bollywood. So, I thought it would be interesting to make a film relevant for Nigerians but one that the global audience can also recognise. Namaste Wahala is like a 90s Bollywood film. It is a Nollywood film, but what truly makes it Bollywood is that there is a lot of dancing around trees, Indian music, and so on…

Read the full interview here:

https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/feb/23/nigerians-love-bollywood-namaste-wahala-director-hamisha-daryani-ahuja-22993.html