Anikulapo, the currently popular Nollywood film helmed by Nollywood actor and filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, has sparked a variety of responses online.
Through his verified Twitter account, Kunle Afolayan discussed his most recent effort, which is now available on the streaming service Netflix, and expressed his happiness that the world has hailed it as a “masterpiece.”
In his movie “Anikulapo,” Afolayan depicts the story of Saro (Kunle Remi), a Gbongan weaver who travels to the ancient Oyo empire in search of greener pastures. In the course of events, he fell in love and had an affair with Arolake, the Alaafin’s (King’s) favorite wife (Bimbo Ademoye).
The monarch (Taiwo Hassan nicknamed Ogogo) then ordered the palace guards to kill the foreigner, Saro, for “defiling” his wife after their relationship was revealed.
When Saro was about to pass away, his lover intervened to prevent the mysterious bird “Eye Apala” from stealing his soul. Arolake stole the bird’s abilities, which include the capacity to bring the dead back to life.
The film has been hailed as one of Kunle Afolayan’s best in the Nollywood business, surpassing such prior productions as Citation, Swallow, October 1st, and many more.
Additionally, the Nigerian Oscars Committee apparently rejected the Anikulapo film on October 3. Despite the accolades Anikulapo has gotten since its premiere, the academy believed it didn’t merit a nomination.
We will discuss why this movie is a masterpiece and where some of its shortcomings lie since, while this movie may be a magnificent masterpiece and a significant improvement over previous Nollywood productions, it may still have some defects.
Settings
Oyo State served as the film’s location. The freshly opened KAP (Kunle Afolayan Productions) resort in a village in Oyo State, where Jonathan Kovel created and shot the film, considering that it was about the ancient Oyo kingdom.
Afolayan purchased a 40-acre plot of property to shoot the movie on, and all of the necessary infrastructure and structures were custom-built for the production. The director compared the film to a Nigerian version of “Game of Thrones,” but one that better reflected Yoruba culture.
The comment, however, might not make sense to a die-hard fan of the HBO series because the landscapes are very different and have more people, infrastructure, and structures.
Visual Results
Anikulapo made a significant impact, showing the globe that the industry has made huge strides in improving the quality of its films. A typical Nigerian who is familiar with Nollywood films would know that the industry can be rather weak when it comes to developing visual effects. A mysterious bird brought back to life the main character “Saro” in the scenario where he was supposed to be dead. Due to its precision, this specific bird that was portrayed appeared to be quite lifelike and astounded many onlookers.
Language
Several characters in the film spoke the Yoruba dialect, though several online commenters argued that it wasn’t an Oyo dialect but rather a standard Yoruba language.
A scene from the film depicted “Saro” (Kunle Remi) being called by Oba (King) Aderoju (Hakeem Kae-Kazim). The king portrayed a character in this scene who could only communicate with a mouthpiece (Asohun Oba).
Despite the fact that Kae-Kazim is a British-Nigerian actor and his Yoruba dialect is not entirely authentic, it seemed as though the filmmaker was attempting to improvise at this particular scene of the film. They had been making reasons for the rumors about the king’s history to try to explain why he couldn’t talk, but was this all simply a plot to disguise his accent?
Characters
The characters in this fantastic film also had amazing clothes, including dressings, tribal markings, hairstyles, and many others. But some would argue that the characters weren’t sufficient. The characters weren’t enough if one tries to compare the mighty Oyo Empire in its heyday to what was shown in the film. Furthermore, given the numerous characters in the film and the director’s claim that it was a reproduction of “Game of Thrones” set in Nigeria, such claim would be untrue.
Sexual Scene
The movie Anikulapo has also sparked a number of responses from online users in regards to the sex scene depicted in the film.
The movie had a moment where Saro (Kunle Remi) and Bimbo Ademoye (Arolake) made out together. In my opinion, the sex scene was unnecessary given that the film is intended to instruct both young and old audiences in a very important lesson. It wasn’t essential, but the showing of nudity might have been a method to update or modernize the Nollywood sector.
The specific scene has prompted various remarks from viewers. “As amazing as your new movie #Anikulapo is, @netflix it is not suitable for the family weekend, especially with youngsters,” tweeted @NiyiOgunkoya. Should you constantly display explicit material? I mean, there were adults having sex in broad daylight!
That is unacceptable and should not be shown on our televisions.
Additionally, @ifiokabasiokop expressed his opinion, saying, “#Anikulapo trended yesterday and I wanted to see what it was about so I read the reviews, which is what I always do before I see a movie. The majority of critics just noted how inappropriate the film’s sex and nudity scenes were.
“Now, the same thing took place when #BloodSisters became popular. I am aware of individuals who were involved in masturbation and pornography as a result of watching the show. The naked scenes, which I’m sure will effect those who sought to avoid porn, are the subject of roughly 80% of conversations about #Anikulapo.
Why is nudity being included in Nollywood movies, I wonder? Families go to the movies to see these films, and teenagers who have cellphones will watch them and think about sex afterward.
“Kunle Afolayan is a fantastic filmmaker, and I adore him, but the use of nudity in this movie is wholly inappropriate. He can convey a point through storytelling without adding explicit material. Hollywood films frequently contain pornographic material, and now Nollywood is following suit.
I hope it never includes any #LGBTQ content because if it does, Nigeria as we know it will change tremendously, much like America did when it transitioned from being a Christian nation to one with a variety of wicked views.
I haven’t seen the movies I referenced in this tweet because I’m keeping my heart pure.
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