Opa Kan deserves a view with its load of humour

Adedayo Odulaja

Opa Kan is without doubt easy to dismiss as another Yoruba movie which is likely to be of not much critical standing and you can really only have the opposing view when you behold the intense excitement in its loaded armoury. It might not boast of the best of screenplay or highest quality of cinematography as well as many other vital areas of a movie but when it comes to humour, it has got it in a blast of abundance. Opa Kan, starring the sensational Odunlade Adekola, Afonja Olaniyi who is also the producer, Jide Kosoko, Ayo Adesanya, Antar Laniyan, Hafiz Oyetoro and many others, is not well talked about for nothing. The story begins from the rustic setting of a village where a young man named Opa Kan is a thorn in the flesh of many of the village residents. Opa Kan, which in English translation roughly means ‘one rod’, is indeed one person who is always causing mischief like an aimless arrow leaving its victims agonising. A group of initiated powerful men are busy with sacrifices and other means that would resurrect a dying young man when Opa Kan (Afonja Olaniyi) comes into the picture. He gets to a house where he requests for some water to drink and then steals the goat being tended left briefly by the person who goes to fetch him a cup of water. Soon enough, he bears a sacrifice on his head after killing the goat and once he drops it, the dying young man, who has been pronounced dead earlier, springs back to life. Although the elders are initially furious with him, they soon realise the enormity of how much he has done and try without success to unravel the mystery behind his insight and powers with which he causes the revival. As if that is not enough, another man comes to the village from the city to visit his mother and as Opa Kan runs away from the farm where he is working with his mother, it is straight to the man (whose role is played by Jide Kosoko) that he goes. Furiously running after the man’s car, Opa begs him to stop all to no avail and he is forced into smashing the windscreen of the car to get the man to stop. The man, and his wife by his side, is driven into insensate fury by the young man’s seeming senselessness but he is soon handed the message that he will be involved in an accident if he continues on the journey. With the man remaining obdurate about the warning still, it all happens as predicted and even his wife dies in the accident that occurs thereafter, which leads him into seeking to kill Opa. The whole village is tired of him and they do not know what to make of what they consider his intransigent and strange ways. But each time Opa gets into trouble, he usually says he should be absolved of any blame as he is only an errand boy of the forces that are sending him to do those things. In truth, based on portrayals, he is able to hear animals and certain voices which sometime urge him to do the things he does. His mother considers Opa’s latest misdemeanour as the height of his mischievous ways and sends him to Lagos with a terrible king of the jungle known far and wide as Baba ‘Be (Antar Laniyan). The man, although elderly and educated in outlook, is a ruthless guardian in the mould of father figure for tough but hardworking elements. He engages them and ensures they do legitimate work but also indulges them in drinking, partying and some vices. And it is when Opa comes to Lagos to Lagos that some calmness comes upon him but occasional flashes of his manners still occur. The wonderful humorous angles that dot the entire space of the movie continue as he comes into contact with Lasun (Odun Adekola), himself a bundle of regulated waywardness and your guess is as good as mine as to the kind of combination they would bring about. Opa Kan is a forceful comedic effort that brings together some of the best comic talents in the land, making the movie desirable in all ramifications. Apart from Afonja Olaniyi himself who is making impressive statements in the Yoruba section of Nollywood, Odun Adekola’s versatility and assured delivery is always a noted delight. Added to this is Hafiz Oyetoro as chief Deroju who is effortlessly funny not as such in a manner of speaking but more in acts, and finally Antar Laniyan, whose directorial vision is one of the propelling forces of Wale Adenuag’s Papa Ajasco & Company. Ayo Adesanya as Setemi, Dayo Amusan as Sandra, Kareem Adepoju more known as Baba Wande are the rest in this enlivening movie and it is produced by Olaniyi Afonja and directed by Antar Laniyan.