Imagine this: You’re watching Adesua Etomi and Wale Ojo confessing their love to each other, then they randomly burst into song and a choreographed dance routine. There’s nothing as fun and freeing as Nollywood musicals (yes, even when Nancy Isime is singing about finding her missing child), and we can prove it.
From Oscar Heman-Ackah’s upcoming ‘Finding Messiah’ to ‘Sacred Tradition’ and Obara’m, Nollywood has always been in their musical bag.
“Ayamma”
Think ‘The Little Mermaid’ if the main character, Iko, is in no way a princess, and her voice wasn’t stolen.
The chief priest just cursed the land, and there’s a possibility of her dying if she so much as hums a tune.
The film gave love, drama, and a really annoying protagonist you’d want to fight with all your might.
“Ayinla”
You can’t really tell a story about the Apala musician who was stabbed to death by his manager without adding a little song and dance, can you?
Well, you could try, but ‘Ayinla’ said God forbid. The musical infuses original music from Ayinla Omowura, exploring themes of betrayal, rivalry, and what happens when you steal your manager’s girlfriend with zero remorse.
“Inale”
If there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s whoever came up with the phrase “Fight for love” didn’t mean it the way the people of Otukpo took it.
Odeh, the love of Inale’s life, fights other suitors to win her hand and loses (which just goes to show how unserious he is). The film follows the couple after this loss, as Inale is drowned by her sister and becomes a temporary mermaid.Her sister marries her betrothed – Prince Agaba, and Odeh deals with the guilt of his loss.
“Sacred Tradition”
An OG feminist, Ugomma hates the traditions and customs of her land and would rather walk barefoott on glass if it meant not following any of them. So obviously the writers make her fall in love with Dinta, a hunter, against the traditions of her village.
“Knocking on Heaven’s Door”
‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ themes include abuse, passion, faith, and love. The film follows Debby, a victim of spousal abuse, as she tries to hide the reality of her marriage to Moses, a choir leader and gospel singer.
“Obara’m”
You know the producers of a musical really mean business when they throw actual musicians, like The Cavemen in and let them do their thing.
The Kayode Kasum-directed film tells Oluchi’s story as she confronts her past mistakes and reconnects with her daughter through their love for music.
“Deadly Price”
The film is a spin on the folktale about the princess who married an otherworldly being disguised as a human and followed him to the land of the spirits.
‘Deadly Price’ follows Akwaeke as she falls under Odum’s spell, marries and follows him to the land of the dead. Now Ogbuagu must rescue her and return her to the palace where she belongs.
“Lara and the Beat”
According to Trish from the movie, ‘Poverty isn’t interesting.’ But somehow, the Giwa sisters find a way to do just that in ‘Lara and the Beat’. Seyi Shay serenades us through the film as her character finds herself, falls in love, and sees her music career take off.
“Nwaogo the housemaid”
There aren’t many things that match up to watching someone pine over and yearn for the person they love. It’s even betterwhen the person doing the pining is the prince of Okwe kingdom, and the love of his life is Nwaogo, who doesn’t send him like that.
We see Nwaogo sing about her tragic life in servitude, and then the prince comes into the equation. We definitely see him chase her around a tree and sing of his love for her multiple times.
“Hoodrush”
Who needs P-Square when we can have the Jabarih brothers?
Singing, dancing, two-timing, and a possible robbery —you name it — the Jabarih brothers will do it as long as it leads them to success.
