The trouble with Kannywood, by Engineering graduate turned-film director
Mohammed would not leave anyone guessing as to why he chose to study Civil Engineering in the university, instead of Theatre Arts. He said, “In fact, a lot of people have wondered about this, but it is a dream I have been nurturing since childhood and, to me, being a renowned specialist in filmmaking is […]
Mohammed would not leave anyone guessing as to why he chose to study Civil Engineering in the university, instead of Theatre Arts. He said, “In fact, a lot of people have wondered about this, but it is a dream I have been nurturing since childhood and, to me, being a renowned specialist in filmmaking is as prestigious as being an engineer. Therefore, studying Engineering and being a filmmaker are just two beautiful dreams come true to me. I have always wanted to be an inventor, not a promoter, right from childhood. Being an Engineer and filmmaker will give me the chance to invent as many things and ideas as possible. Simply, I love being an engineer and filmmaker, and I am back with full force to contribute to the growth and development of the Hausa film industry”.
The Kannywood director believes that the only way things could be improved in the industry is when well educated and exposed people form part of the filmmaking. “There is no doubt that the Hausa film industry is lagging behind in so many respects, but I strongly feel that the major problem is our educational backwardness. In fact, this is the very reason I so much cherish the very few educated ones in the industry and also why I returned to the industry instead of going out there in search of a greener posture in the field of Engineering”, he explained.
He added, “the only way through which we can make a move towards developing the Hausa film industry is for many more educated people to join the industry, while the existing members pursue higher educational qualifications. This way, the industry can, in future, compete with any other one around the world”.
Back in the industry in his better self, Mohammed has directed his first film titled, “Matar Aure Nah”. The theme of the film is the importance of faithfulness in marriage. The film equally promotes the popular Hausa culture of “Ba Shiga”, meaning no free entrance to a Muslim home, particularly by men.
According to the civil engineer-turned film director, his film is a story of a young promising millionaire, Ibrahim Maishunku who acted the key role with name Mustapha.
Explaining the film’s storyline, Mohammed said, “This character, Mustapha, becomes blind during his University days. He was a very generous and humble multimillionaire, but due to his blindness, he never got married. Therefore, his uncle, back in the village, got a girl for him to marry; an idea he only welcomed after he was convinced on the need to have a wife in his life. After the marriage was conducted and the bride brought to her husband’s house, he appreciated her very much despite the fact that he never had the opportunity to see her. One fateful day, he told her that he was expecting one of his old friends and she should therefore prepare a special reception for him.
“Meanwhile, the bride’s parents had earlier objected to her marrying a guy she was in love with in the village which consequently made the guy to leave the village in grief. Unfortunately for Mustapha, his friend was his wife’s ex-boyfriend and that visit served as a reunion for the two old lovers. They both begin a fresh affair with the bride knowing full well that Mustapha, her husband, was blind. But unfortunately for them, Mustapha got an appointment with a eye specialist hospital in Egypt and after visiting for medication, he regained his sight but pretended for a long time that he still could not see until when he set a trap for them by inviting his wife’s parents and relatives to witness an episode of the mischief which took place in his bedroom”.
The film, according to Mohammed, will be released soon and is specially packaged not only to give a new tune to Hausa films, but also to change the perception of the very many who consider Hausa films as having the same themes of a typical love story.
The funny thing about Mohammed’s foray into the Hausa film industry is that though he is wholeheartedly in the industry as a director, it is not all films he is going to participate in. “As a director, any film I am going to direct will have to be an improved package by way of depicting a specific issue in the Hausa society and for this, it will have to be well articulated because change is what we are out to bring to the industry”, he reiterated.
In Mohammed’s view, the Hausa film industry would have been much better than what it is at present if the filmmakers were to be united; stressing that that is the major reason the industry is static. “The major problem of the industry is lack of unity among its members and if that is allowed to continue, certainly, not much will be achieved. We have to work as a team, stand up to promote the Hausa culture and face the challenges confronting us. This way, Kannywood will stand on its feet”, he said.
On the recent increase in censoring fees from N20, 000 to N40, 000, Mohammed said: “It is a problem because it will make filmmakers compress their film ideas to very short ones in order to minimize the cost of censoring. This will certainly not help in moving the industry forward”.