Hajara Yusuf is the producer of ‘Ka ya ce’, a new Hausa movie with subtitles in English, speaking RUTH CHOJI after the premier at the Silverbird cinema, the TV producer stated that the movie has a great lesson for everyone, she also stated that the world is yet to see the best of her.
What is ‘Ka ya ce’ all about?
Ka Ya Ce in Hausa is ‘had I known’, it is a story of a young girl who had so many challenges in life; she surmounts them by going back to school and becoming successful but she also neglected a very important part of the society which is family values. She thought marriage was just one of those things she could ignore because she already had a son, she thought her career is more important than family, and also expected her money could take care of any situation.
What were the challenges you encountered while producing the movie?
So many, but the major one was finance, coming from the fact that it is a Hausa movie, getting people to just come and watch it was a big issue, so we had to do lots of publicity to get people interested in it.
Where did you get your inspiration from?
I got it from the society, people are different and we have to understand their culture and their society, we cannot do without stepping on each other’s toes, we must always learn to love and forgive one another, the lesson in Ka ya ce is a lesson for everyone, whatever you sow is what you shall reap.
The north is regarded as conservative, how will this movie impact on the life of the average northerner?
These are mistakes we make, and sometimes the only avenue to admit them is through the movies, from the side comments we heard in hall, you will know that people took away one lesson or the other from the production.
How do you hope to overcome piracy?
Even in the western world, there is piracy, it is like a worm, getting it out is a problem but thank God we have marketing strategy; we are putting it in the box office before we take it out there, government too is doing a lot to help movie producers in Nigeria.
Ka ya ce is a Hausa movie, yet so many stars from Nollywood came for the premier. How did you break the barrier?
It has been like this from the beginning to the final production chain, there are some people who will never think of watching a Hausa film, but with the turn out, people will like to give it a try because of the kind of people that came, and also the subtitles. We are also thinking of taking it to Lagos to be premièred, I think with this and other collaborations, we should be able to bridge the gap.
Movies production even in Kannywood is regarded as the exclusive preserve of men, yet here you are, a lady from the north. What advice would you give northern women like you who have dreams and aspiration?
We have so many female producers in Kannywood, most of our films are in the cocoon. I am sure that with encourage, they will do better than what they are doing; we have people like Hauwa Maina, Rukaiya and the rest. All we need is the chance to show the world what we have got.
What should we expect from you now that ‘Ka ya ce’ is out?
This is just the beginning, you will get to know, but the world will see and hear more from me soon.