Shooting of a multi-million Naira epic film on the life and times of the late Duro Ladipo, Nigeria’s prime folklore plays/music icon, has began at a location in Oyo State.

Mr Wole Duro-Ladipo, son of the late playwright, disclosed this on Sunday in Ibadan during a courtesy visit to the founding Trustee of the Duro Ladipo Foundation, Chief Lekan Alabi.

“The film is expected to hit the cinemas in Nigeria and abroad before the end of this year.

Duro-Ladipo, who is based in Chicago in the U.S., assured that all was in place for a successful shooting of the film.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the late Ladipo died 47 years ago at the age of 45.

He died during an illness at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan on March 11 in 1978.

Responding to Duro-Ladipo during the visit, Alabi who is the Maye Olubadan of Ibadanland congratulated the successors of the late Ladipo on the step being taken.

He recalled that Ladipo’s most impressive play, “Oba Koso”, had won the first prize at the Commonwealth Film Festival at London in the UK in 1965.

“It was such a great play then, and it will be nice to have the film in the cinemas now,” Alabi said. (NAN)