A Tunde Kelani Film presents Lateef Adedimeji (Ayinla), Adebowale Adedayo (Bayowa), Ade Laoye (Jaiye), Omowunmi Dada (Deborah), Bimbo Manuel (Uncle Sam), Kunle Afolayan (Ajala), Abdul Wasiu Oliya (Ajasa), Jumoke Odetola(Kemi), Bimbo Ademoye (Fali). Screenplay, Ade Adeniji; Executive Producers, Kunle Afolayan, Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, Idowu Obasa, Tayo Oladimeji, Kunle Adebiyi, Oluwatoyin Adewumi; Associate Producers, Jide Bello, Seun Alli; Producer, Jode Osiberu; Director, Tunde Kelani; Director of Photography, Lukman Abdulrahman. © 2021
This movie is inspired by the life and times of Ayinla Omowura (1933-1980). A Nigerian Yoruba Apala music superstar from Itoko, Abeokuta, South-West of Nigeria. Like all autobiographical treatises (period movies), certain instances are made up to depict the real-life and period of the subject. Ade Adeniji’s screenplay represents the real-life Apala singer who led wildlife like a candle in the wind. Alhaji Waheed Yusuf Ayinla is an unmanageable young star in Abeokuta, promising to become a star and a vehicle to sell the Yoruba traditional folk song and lore to the world. He could invent lyrics and melodies for naming and wedding ceremonies with a snap of a finger. He had weaknesses, though. He was wanton and illiterate.
Murders of music icons and superstars often take place in showbusiness, especially so in Hollywood. Causes can be the envy of the subject’s fame, monies squandered by managers, jealous rivalry over love relationships, or plain old obsession or infatuation with the person. In 1995, Selena Quintanilla, the Tejano musician, and Grammy winner, was murdered by her “number one fan,” Yolanda Saldivar. Sam Cooke, at age 33, was shot to death by the manager of the motel at which he was staying.
Instead of running a scam on the villagers in Itoko, Ayinla is lucky to be discovered by an equally struggling entertainment promoter, Ajala (Kunle Afolayan). He will take Ayinla, his manager, Bayowa (Adebowale Adebayo), and his troupe abroad to London, America, big cities worldwide, and Africa. Ayinla and Bayowa’s relationship becomes sour into a malaise over the London trip. Deborah wants to go and has been given the green light by Ayinla. Bayowa, we understand, had introduced Deborah to Ayinla as his maternal cousin. He had lied. He had coveted romantic interest in Deborah. Now that Ayinla wants her on the trip to London, he threatens to resign from the band. “She can’t come with us, Alhaji!” Bayowa says vehemently. “She’s coming with us. And there’s nothing you or anybody can do about it!” Ayinla says assuringly.
Bayowa, “I see. If that’s how it is, I’m leaving the band.”
Ayinla, “Leaving the band? I hope you know what you’re doing. Who’s the boss, here, you or me? If I say she’s coming, she’s coming! If you don’t want to go, get out–And give me back my motorcycle!”
It has been a while, and obviously, Ayinla has been missing Bayowa and wants to reconcile their differences. In a moment of truth about his life, Ayinla, “I’ve been thinking hard about the world…about where I come from…about where I am now. And I see now that I should be thankful for everything. Why Should I take things so hard? Why on earth am I fighting over a motorcycle? I am going to look for Bayowa. When I find him, I’ll let him keep the motorcycle. I’ll ask him to come to tonight’s gig with us.”
That is the last true-to-earth statement Alhaji Waheed Ayinla Yusuf Gbongbolowo Omowura uttered before stepping into the bar. It happened so quickly. Bayowa and Alhaji Ayinla get into a heated argument. All of a sudden, bottles got broken. Alhaji Ayinla got hit with a broken beer bottle in the head, and he died after a cerebral hemorrhage. In a panoramic image of the scene, the wide-format shot of the witnesses and band members at the bar when Ayinla is pronounced dead is mournful. Above, you see them hugging and crying below in each other’s arms. It was like their life itself was over. Adewole Onilu-Ola says in his regret and loss of Ayinla. “When I remember him, I cry because if he were alive, I would have gone beyond where I am today.”
I saw the smile and the hope on Ajala’s face a few months ago, holding Ayinla’s photo in his hand. He takes a massive puff at his cigar and lets out a plume of smoke. He said, “We are in business.” He has invested so much hope in sponsoring Ayinla and looked forward to this one promotion that would bring his ship home, and here he is. He lost it all in one crummy bar brawl. And I could see the disappointment on Ajala’s face when he visits the scene of Ayinla’s demise. It’s like his entire world just caved in on him.
In a recent interview with one of his compatriots, Adewole Onilu-Ola, “Ayinla was a lyrical, musical genius. He loved women, alcohol, and fights.” Ade Adeniji’s screenplay depicts so many of those elements. Besides Ayinla’s crop of women who bow to him when he comes home, he still wants Deborah and other women out there. If you don’t see him on the stage performing, you’ll find him with a glass of beer in front of him. And about three minutes of screen time, Ayinla was in a brawl at a party his troupe was performing. He was seen in the last scene in a fight in a bar.
In an interview with the oldest living boyhood friend and musical compatriots, Adewole Onilu-Ola. He ascertained that Ayinla, in one of his candid conversations, like a prophet, pronounced his death by one of the people around him. He pronounced that his manager, Bayewumi, would kill him. You bet the movie depicts that real-life prophecy scene by Ayinla on the hotel patio, telling Deborah his regrets. The film makes us believe the end is near for Ayinla because shortly after that scene, he walked to his death.
It is hard for period movies to come up with the exact depiction of the subject. Costumes and props could be hard to come by. Ajala’s wardrobe, and the patted-afro hairstyle, match the 70s era. The record player, the vinyl records, and the old Mercedes cars present believable stories. One other attraction that enthralls me about Ayinla is the lead. Lateef Adedimeji, born native of Abeokuta, Ogun State, steps perfectly into the role of the icon. If he won 2016, Best Actor, Lead Role (Yoruba), he needs to win another for the lead in Ayinla.
Every literary piece must conform to elements that make it complete. Confrontations between Ayinla and his manager Bayowa stem over the motorcycle and Deborah. The presence of the bike over which Ayinla was killed would have played a prominent role in the picture. I missed the prominence of the infamous motorcycle in the entire story.