Ayinla Omowura, who was an Apala musician featured in this delectable piece. Ayinla is a Nollywood musical based on the true-life story of Ayinla Yusuf, popularly known as Ayinla who used Apala music to address societal issues that confronted people of his time. He was also known for his criticism of the Nigerian government. This new flick chronicles the life and times of Ayinla up until his death on the 6th of May 1980 when he was stabbed by Bayewu, his Manager during a bar fight in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Embedded in the building blocks of every good motion-picture lies a good script and then good actors, this movie didn’t fail on both grounds. The storyline is compelling, the movie picks up at the most pivotal moment of Ayinla’s career, at the peak of his popularity. It starts on quite a joyful note, leaving the viewers who are not familiar with the character shocked at how quickly his life is ended.
Ayinla. Credit: YouTube
The actors executed quite phenomenal performances fully embracing the roles they played. It’s not a walk in the park playing the role of a well-known figure but Adedimeji Lateef steps up to the challenge, embodying the role of Ayinla down to the last detail, the little things that make all the difference such as the gestures and facial expressions are so beautifully mimicked. He puts on such an engaging performance that he sort of overshadows the other players, in the best way possible.
The movie is set and filmed in Itoko in Abeokuta, where Ayinla was born and the landscape is just about right for the era the story is set in, the red untarred roads, mountains, and old buildings give credence to the authenticity of the story.
Another thing that makes the movie stand out is the attention to detail. Director Tunde Kelani got the little things almost down to perfection: makeup, hair, old drink bottles, cars, and soundtrack placement are all executed with a near-flawless touch.
Although the movie is mostly in Yoruba, there are English subtitles, which are nearly perfect. It makes the audience who have little to no understanding of the language enjoy the movie.
No motion picture is without its flaws, although there aren’t many of them. Despite the great performance, there are a few scenes where Adedimeji’s lip movements are not in-sync with the lyrics of the songs. Although the parts of the movie in Yoruba had English subtitles, there are bits where English is spoken and there are no Yoruba sub-titles to Yoruba.
Ayinla is one of those movies that shows the Nollywood industry still has a few tricks up its sleeve. Looking for something captivating and out of the ordinary? Look no further, Ayinla is the watch.
Didi Dan-Asisah is an art enthusiast and critic. She lives in Lagos.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
