Omotola rejoices over success of debut movie, recalls surgery recovery

By David Adebayo

Despite battling health challenges and undergoing surgery just before her project’s release, Nollywood icon Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is celebrating the warm reception of her directorial debut, A Mother’s Love.

The veteran actress shared a video of herself in a hospital bed via her Instagram page, explaining that she recently came across the clip while clearing her phone and decided to share it with fans now that she had the time.

According to her, the journey surrounding her first movie as a director has been intense but rewarding.

“Clearing my phone this morning and saw some videos I had saved! Now I have time to post them! Oh dear! What a journey it has been with my debut A Mother’s Love,” she wrote.

Her post has drawn reactions from fans and colleagues, many of whom praised her resilience and determination in pushing through personal health challenges while pursuing a major career milestone.

In 2024, Omotola had revealed that she was dealing with an undisclosed illness.

She shared a video of herself lying on a hospital bed, accompanied by gratitude to God, using Fireboy DML’s Iseoluwa as the soundtrack to the emotional post.

The video sparked concern among her followers, who flooded her page with prayers and goodwill messages.

The actress later opened up further about the experience, revealing that she had undergone emergency surgery on her abdomen.

In a candid post, she showed visible scars from the procedure and spoke about her strength through the difficult period.

She maintained that despite the physical and emotional challenges, she remained unshaken.

Her latest celebration comes months after she marked her birthday with a message of thanksgiving, describing herself as grateful for the gift of life, restored health and supportive friendships after what had clearly been a trying year.

Omotola’s film, A Mother’s Love, currently showing in cinemas, marks a new chapter in her career after decades of success as one of Nollywood’s most recognisable faces.

The project has been widely viewed as a bold transition from acting into directing and producing at a higher level.

The actress had earlier stirred conversation on social media when she declared that she would not engage in online dancing trends or gimmicks to promote her movies.

She described such methods as unprofessional, insisting that quality films should be marketed through strategic and professional means rather than viral antics.