On location with the cast and crew of Oridamilare
By Victor Akande
Published: September 24, 2005
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Remi Abiola, a top Yoruba actress attempts a higher level in her career with the production of her first film, a Yoruba language flick she titled: Oridamilare The shoot, which shifted location between a suburb of Ado Ekiti and Akure, her home state capital, saw the cast and crew travelling the four hour distance from Lagos in a convoy of private cars and synopsis buses bearing posters of a previous production done by a colleague as a kind of a password at the numerous police check points, through Ibadan, in Oyo State and Ife in Osun State. Typical of the economy of time in the Nigeria movie industry,the director,Adebambo Adebajo, set out to work, sparing little or no time for the group to rest as he began the shooting immediately on arrival.

Flexible Dialogue of Yoruba movies
The cast, comprisingYemi Adeyemi (Suara of Super story) Femi Branch, comedian Sunday Omobolanle, Lanre Hassan, Adebayo Salami Yemi Awomodu among others converged to rehearse scenes from a script totally devoid of dialogue. They merely read the, of each scene, taking notes of the cast and the plot and often go ahead to supply dialogue. Rehearsals, therefore, became a conference to build humour filled dialogue.

Where did Remi find the tears?
The producer herself played the lead. And because the title of the movie,Oridamilare (Divine Vindication ) is a refrence to the plight of her character, it was expected that she feel the heat before justice could prevails. Obviously, that means tears and sorrow. But how she was able to sustain or the tears that flowed through several scenes, during the various angle shots is one tears enriched talent that would thrill anyone on set. The tears, each time she asked to repeat the scene, did not appear to diminish.

With Suara and Pappy Luwe, it was a live comic relief
Over the hunger associated with unexpected delays in welfare (location meals) and the boredom of repeated scenes, Yemi Adeyemi found solace in singing and chanting odu Ifa . It appeared not to be a delight to the man alone, who rendered the captivating poetry sonorously. It become quite entertaining to the crew members. It was also reminiscent of the late Hubert Ogunde’s peculiar theatre features and messages of social change and traditional sermons.

On the other hand, you need to see the acts of mischief by comedian Sunday Omobolanle (Aluwe), who acted driver to a rich man and pal of his boss's little girl in the play. He also sang and dramatised Zule Zoo’s popular tune of Kerewawa.

The game boys play
Most young man in camp got hooked to one girl or the other. Beginning from the king of boys, Femi Branch to Yemi Amowodu. But while others were doing it discretely Sunkanmi Omobolanle (Pappy Luwe’s son) threw caution to the wind. He alone did not display the caution Yoruba youth traditionally observed where elders were present.

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