Will Muyiwa Ademola regain his (lost) mojo with Gbarada?

Muyiwa Ademola

L-R, Odunlade Adekola, Muyiwa Ademola (standing) and Femi Adebayo

L-R, Odunlade Adekola, Muyiwa Ademola (standing) and Femi Adebayo

By Oladeinde Olawoyin

Olumuyiwa Ademola, perhaps the most promising of the talents thrown up by his generation, should have a new movie out by August. It is entitled Gbarada,

Snippets made available from the movie thus far, fascinate.

Muyiwa occupies a special place in Yoruba film making and, curiously, in anticipation of the release date, I am a tad inspired to scribble a jabberwocky once again after months of hiatus.

But, a caveat.

Sometime in 2017, I watched Muyiwa Ademola’s blockbuster, OGO OSUPA, over a decade after its release and found it quite difficult to watch the same actor on the big screen without shedding a tear for the Yoruba movie industry, the cheekily named ‘Yoruwood’. Of course, Tunde Kelani and perhaps Tade Ogidan have always been there as the consolation in an industry fueled by mediocrity. But there is this necessity to think beyond Kelani; beyond the man and his arts. Perhaps because the cineast is already in his 60s, watching Kelani’s work comes with a certain gloom these days, a mischievous feeling of anticipated loss made more harrowing by the unavailability of a potential heir.

Enter Muyiwa Ademola.

First, there was IYONU OLORUN, a movie that signaled the birth of a rising star. Then came OGO OSUPA, the one-shot with a shoestring budget and a huge ambition, dragging the multi-talented actor to the center of our TV screen. By the time Muyiwa came out with his Magnum opus, ORI, he had already registered his name in the consciousness of every lover of good pictures.

And so the release of a Muyiwa movie became a cultural festival in itself, with its attendant buzz and razzmatazz. Then came the downward slide, beginning with ILE, his surprisingly poor response to the blockbuster ORI. With ALAPADUPE, he attempted a comeback but already, and quite sadly, we lost the filmmaker.

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