By Amadi Chimaobi Kingsley
THE word Buka, borrowed from Hausa and Yoruba and first attested in 1972, refers to a roadside restaurant or street stall that sells local foods at low(affordable) prices.
Another term for such eating places first evidenced in 1980 is Bukateria, which adds to buka the –teria ending from the word cafeteria. An even more creative synonym is ‘Mama Put’, from 1979, which comes from the way that customers usually order food in a buka: they say ‘Mama, put…’ to the woman running the stall, and indicate the dish they want.
The Buka, also known as ‘Mama Put’, is a time-tested Nigerian symbol. This is a place where you get served the tastiest Nigerian foods. You can hardly walk through a Nigerian street without finding at least one Buka nestled in a corner.
The buka owner is an important person in the community. This person basically unites everyone in one street food corner. They usually have nicknames, which could be used as the official name of the Buka. If the owner is a great cook, then patrons will travel long distances just to eat there. People are willing to crawl into a hole to find good food. The disposition of the buka owner matters very little. People will patronize them whether they are polite or rude. In fact, no one is ever worried about a rude owner. The rude owners know their food is good, and as such, you won’t be going anywhere.
Battle On Buka Street presents all the amazing and talented women who can cook variety of foods well, but where there is so much talent, there will always be competition.
In what seems like an overdose of creative juice from her previous movie Omo Ghetto: The saga, Funke Akindele thrills us with another film – Battle on Buka Street, which premiered in the cinemas on December 16, 2022.
You think this movie is about food? You would be right and be wrong at the same time. Buka street only had two rivals opposite each other and selling the same food…. that part may not sit well with some viewers anyway. Despite it’s talented lead stars and a resonating theme, the film wallows in the predictable cycle of exaggerated antics that keep plaguing the comedy genre in the Nigerian movie industry.
Funke Akindele amazed her fans in Omo Ghetto: The Saga but here she seems to be a shadow of herself and was almost outshined by her co-star Mercy Johnson.
Yejide Is the daughter of a Yoruba mom and with the help of her mother she was able to have a thriving business on Buka Street.
However, the plot twist regarding the truth about Yejide’s husband’s incarceration seemed rushed and somewhat cheap and could have been written better.
For Mercy Johnson (Awele), she works with a mediocre script; the result is a character who is arguably the most engaging but whose arc (which was supposed to be a big deal in the final act) is executed off-camera. she was supposed to portray the Igbo daughter but lacked basic Igbo language or could even make Igbo delicacies, her children couldn’t even speak the language and she kept repeating nonsense cut phrases. Her twins were too old for the tomfoolery they exhibited most especially the lop-pop always in their mouth and hair styles threw on off any time their scenes come on the screen. The crimes they commit and seem to get away with was absurd.
Additionally, Awele’s sudden change of heart near the end of the film lacks proper development, leaving the audience craving more clarity.
Nkem Owoh and Shola Showbowale are a sight for sore eyes and their acting veteran does evoke laughter without trying to at times.
For the better part of the film, we are treated to several acts of buffoonery all in the name of comedy. The constant fight was getting on the nerves at a point it became exhausting with the noise…the marketplace violence was uncalled for.
The unexpected tonal shift to drama threw one off guard but just when it seemed to work well in advancing the plot and developing the characters, the outlandish humor returns, climaxing in a rather abrupt ending that made one ask if it deliberately sets up a potential sequel.
In terms of technicality, Battle On Buka Street pales in comparison to some of Nollywood’s best.
The set pieces are okay, and the scene transitions are nothing special, but the indoor scenes lacked the expected creativity, especially in the scene where Awele (Mercy Johnson) tried to cajole her own sick mother, Ezinne (Tina Mbah) to be making soup for her business too but it didn’t work considering Ezinne’s ill health.
Besides the above, Battle on Buka Street is yet another forgettable comedy in the long list of comedies Nollywood keeps churning out.
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