Brotherhood | Zikoko!

If there’s one Nollywood movie that had everyone talking in 2022, it’s Brotherhood. The action thriller, which follows twin brothers (played by Falz and Tobi Bakre) on different sides of a massive heist, took over the cinemas in 2022, reminding us that Nollywood doesn’t have to make a rom-com to grab the audience’s attention.

With Brotherhood coming to Amazon Prime in 2023, I went digging for some cool random facts you probably don’t know about this banger of a film.

Brotherhood was the highest-grossing Nollywood film of 2022

In a year that big Hollywood movies like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Woman King and Avatar: The Way of Water occupied Nigerian cinemas, Brotherhood still came out strong as the highest-grossing Nollywood film with ₦328.9M. As a loyal fan, is there anything for the boys? Just asking.

Brotherhood has the largest ensemble of BBNaija housemates in one film

Show me which other Nollywood film has five ex-Big Brother Naija housemates playing serious roles, not waka pass or cameos? From Brotherhood’s leading man, Tobi Bakre, to Dorathy Bachor, Dianne Russet, Boma Akpore and Seyi Awolowo, the film was packed with BBNaija star power. Ebuka should be proud of his people.

The writers of Brotherhood knew it was almost impossible to film in Nigeria

According to Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, who wrote the TV show Ricordi and co-wrote Brotherhood, he had a running joke with his co-writer, Jade Osiberu, that they’d write whatever worked for the story no matter how outrageous it sounded, and leave production to figure out how to shoot them. Fun fact: Jade was the film’s producer, so she was setting herself up. Luckily for the audience, they made that magic happen.

Brotherhood’s director is Ugandan

While many people assumed Jade Osiberu directed Brotherhood, the film was actually directed by a Ugandan filmmaker, Loukman Ali. Loukman is also responsible for The Girl in the Yellow Jumper, a gripping thriller anyone who liked Brotherhood should see ASAP.

This is the first time Falz is playing a non-comedic role

Falz speaking regular English without an exaggerated Yoruba accent? I’m here for it. While the rapper has proven himself as one of the funniest comedic actors of the moment with Jenifa’s Diaries, Quam’s Money and Chief Daddy, taking on Wale Adetula in Brotherhood marked the first time we’ve seen him play a serious role, no jokes. Hopefully, he takes on more roles like this for the culture.

READ: How to Make a Badass Nollywood Action Film, According to “Brotherhood” Scriptwriter, Abdul Tijani-Ahmed

Brotherhood is Jade Osiberu and Tobi Bakre’s second film together

Are Jade Osiberu and Tobi Bakre the Nigerian version of Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese? This and whether or not my soulmate has already married someone else are the two questions that keep me up at night. Before Brotherhood, Tobi and Jade worked on the 2019 action comedy Sugar Rush. They also have a third film, Gangs of Lagos, coming later in 2023.

OC Ukeje, is that you with dreadlocks?

We’ve seen OC Ukeje rock different looks and play complex roles before, but something about his character, Izra, stands out. Yes, it’s the dreadlocks (and maybe all the times I wanted to kill him myself while watching the film). This hair on OC is a major slay, and I’m here for it.

Brotherhood is the highest-grossing Nollywood action film of all time

Move over romantic comedies because action films might be coming for the Nollywood crown. Brotherhood currently occupies the sixth spot on the list of highest-grossing Nollywood films of all time, including The Wedding Party, Omo Ghetto: The Saga and Chief Daddy in the top five. Remember, this film literally came out months ago and is already this high up the list.

Brotherhood started showing in 14 African countries at the same time

It’s one thing to open your film in Nigerian cinemas, gauge the response and then start showing in Ghana or something. But when you’re big, you’re big — and Brotherhood was big. The film opened in 14 countries, a ballsy move mostly associated with big Hollywood franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Twilight.

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Coming to you next week
Everyone you know is probably talking about Brotherhood. The crime action film, which follows Falz and Tobi Bakare as brothers on opposite sides of the law, has taken over African cinemas, with people hailing it as one of the best Nollywood films ever made.

You know who to meet if you didn’t enjoy the film

As someone who wants to make movies one day, I had to hunt down Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, who co-wrote Brotherhood with Jadesola Osiberu, for all the gist on what it takes to create a world as entertaining as the one I saw in the cinema. Take out your pens and start jotting things down.

Make sure your characters have cultist names

Having an action film with boring character names is a big no-no. If you were thinking in that direction, you better start unthinking now. Pick the scariest names you can find — like Shadow, Poison and Kalashskinov, so your character sounds like a Russian villain — even though the film is set in Nigeria.

Confuse the audience by making the good guy and bad guy brothers

Action films usually have the good and bad guys, with audiences always rooting for the good guys. But where’s the fun in that? We decided to make picking a side hard by making the chief opponents brothers. But e no still do, so we made them twins!

Shut down Third Mainland Bridge for a major shootout scene

How many films can say they shut down the Third Mainland Bridge like it’s their backyard? Action films need high stakes, and what’s higher than shutting down the Third Mainland Bridge? It’s either you go big or go home and drink Ribena.

The choice is yours.

Sam Dede, because why not?

Are you really a Nollywood stan if you don’t know Sam Dede? From Die Another Day to Igodo and the legendary, Issakaba, Sam Dede is one of the OG Nollywood action stars. Having him in Brotherhood felt like a homage to the past, and he killed his role.

If you can’t find Sam Dede, hunt down Saint Obi.

Plenty of confrontational scenes to give the audience high BP

You can’t give your audience rest of mind. It’s not allowed. They came to the cinema to watch an action film and be thrilled, which means they woke up and chose violence, so give them that violence. Anytime they think everything is over, throw in another confrontation scene to surprise them like NEPA bill.

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Throw in some romance and intense kissing to calm everyone’s nerves

Characters can’t be fighting and shooting guns every time; they need to enjoy themselves too. Plus, a little mouth meet and greet here and there is necessary to help cool the audience down. It also gives everyone relationships to ship — should I go with #Wamsi (Wale and Kamsi) or #Aldie (Akin and Goldie)?

Make all the characters relatable — even the bad guys

It’s always important for the audience to see themselves or someone they know in your characters. From the guy who wants to live a responsible life but that black sheep of the family won’t give him peace of mind, to the friend who’s just a mad person in every situation, your characters have to feel real.

Plenty of car chase scenes because Tom Cruise doesn’t have two heads

If Hollywood can do car chase scenes, make cars summersault and blow them up, then what’s stopping you? Tom Cruise and Marvel don’t have two heads, dear. Look for kerosine and blow that car up today.

Scenes in dark bars with snooker and smoke

Every action film has those scenes set in dimly lit bars with people smoking like no tomorrow, playing snooker and making shady deals. For maximum effect, we have more than one. Bit of advice: the more smoke, the better.

A dramatic death scene

You need a death scene that’ll make the audience cry. Think Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame or Mufasa in The Lion King. If the audience isn’t plotting revenge on behalf of your character, then your film hasn’t started yet.

Disclaimer: All of this is bants, so take my advice at your own risk. LOL

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