KASVID: How People Kill Others Dreams pt.2

Following the death of veteran Nollywood producer Chukwuka Emelionwu AKA KASVID, His friend and vibrant writer Tai Emeka Obasi pens down an emotional narration of some events. Read below as we will keep you updated once he releases the next version.

KASVID: How People Kill Others Dreams 2.

By Tai Emeka Obasi

I’m still in tears but getting stronger. My friend Kasvid must not die in vain. I will tell the world who he was. I owe him that much. I will share his dreams, his hard work, resilience, honesty and principles as a consummate moviemaker. The very best there was.

So, Kasvid, Ifeanyi Ikpoenyi and I sat together to conference on a concept I’d develop. Of course, the over 500 pages of work that took me nearly three years to piece together became a document for the archives. Gov. Willie Obiano’s bizarre feud with the man who installed him as governor made certain of that.

Kasvid suggested we did another story on the new governor, maybe not as elaborate as the one before. Mr. Hollywood agreed but I refused, very firmly.

It brought up a heated argument, leading to Kasvid lamenting he was seeing this side of me for the first time. I retorted that was only because he hadn’t looked deeper to appreciate the writer in me.

There was no way I was going to write about a governor who had not stayed a year yet in office and title it, “Willie Is Working”. There was no way I was going to eulogise a man whose early signs were showing complete opposite of everything his predecessor was. And it was what his predecessor was that brought me home in the first.

“Tai, were you expecting Willie to be exactly like Peter Obi? Remember what you told me after we had a private meeting with Obiano during the campaign period,” Kasvid countered.

“I know I wasn’t expecting him to be like Peter Obi. In fact, nobody can because Obi is far ahead of his generation but I wasn’t expecting Obiano to be like Mbadinuju either.”

“What if Obiano changes to your expectations tomorrow?” Kas asked.

“Until he does I’m not going to write a word for him.”

“Are you telling me there’s nothing good you see in Obiano to write about?”

“Nothing to make a movie yet. Whenever there is you won’t even persuade me. I will pick up my pen. For now I won’t write a word based on the propaganda his aides are flying about. I live in Awka. I have contacts. I hear and see the real Gov Obiano. I came to promote my state, not to deceive her citizens. Any work I write will remain long after I’m gone. I don’t want my children growing up with the stigma of a father who was merely a sycophant. My great grandchildren should be proud of me long after I’m gone. Go and read Chinua Achebe’s short letter to Obasanjo rejecting the National Award. That is exactly what Tai Obasi would have written if in the shoes of the great literary icon,” I drove home.

“Don’t you think I will equally have great grandchildren?’’ Kas hardly give up.

“Of course you will but you fail to appreciate the difference between a producer/marketer and writer. Your first motivation is to make money while mine is to keep a legacy. Nobody will blame you for making a commercial move like Aki na Ukwa but people will blame me for writing any stuff that doesn’t promote the values I’m known for, whatever amount I was paid to write the thrash.”

More arguments.

“Do you think you love Peter Obi more than I do?” Kas asked for something to ask.

“This is not about Peter Obi. The problem between Obi and Obiano is theirs to settle. That’s not my business. My business is Obiano’s governance style. Where is the continuity you and I fought with everything in us?” I responded.

“But he’s only beginning. He will eventually come good,” you don’t’ know anybody who can be persuasive if you didn’t know Kas.

“Until he comes, I’m not going to preempt him,” I sealed the lid.

Further arguments with Ikpoenyi throwing his weight behind Kas didn’t move me. And we parted company. For three months we didn’t talk to each other. I thought Kas was going to look for another writer to do the script since I walked out telling them they could go ahead and do any movie about Gov Obiano without me. That I didn’t care and wouldn’t hold it against them.

Kas could easily have contracted another writer and with Ikpoenyi around, they would have produced a good script. But they didn’t. And I respected them for that, even when I never told them.

One early afternoon, Kas called me. He was at Golphins and would I come over?

Late in the evening I knocked on the door to room 102. That was his favourite room, always.

“Are you still going to tell me that you haven’t seen anything good in Gov Willie Obiano?” he asked calmly.

“Not really. There is one, a good one. SECURITY,” I returned.

“Can we now make a movie on Gov. Obiano based on security?” he added.

“Now you’re talking my good friend,” I returned and meant it.

We there and then buried out differences, went down to the bar and plotted the blockbuster called, LAST KIDNAP.

I was still involved deeply with Dr. Ernest Ndukwe’s election. INEC had robbed us of victory and we were in the Tribunal but I still squeezed out enough time to deliver the first draft within two months, forwarded to Kas, Ikpoenyi and Ikechukwu Onyeka.

Two weeks later the four of us gathered at Golphins main bar to x-ray the script. After real professional surgery, I went home and effected agreed amendments.

The script was ready.

And Kas swung into action.

Our partnership worked well because both of us respected each other. He believed I was the best in putting down ideas as script and I knew he was the best in executing those ideas to become movies.

With a veteran like Mr. Hollywood working with him, the challenges of a big project like Last Kidnap was surmountable.

But I must state from here that I wasn’t really deep in the production as I should have been.

1. I was by then still deep with our Tribunal case, which later dragged to the Appeal Court.

2. Every day that passed saw me disliking Gov Obiano’s governance style the more. Propaganda was becoming a very disturbing trend and I had to take a firm stand.

3. Gov Obiano’s team saw every critique of the government as an enemy and I needed to keep a distance.

Still I was on locations on several occasions and had to improvise some Igbo dialogues to spice up some scenes.

But before shooting proper, Kasvid and Mr. Hollywood had sought for and got appointment to see Uzu Okagbue, the all-powerful Chief Protocol Officer to Gov. Obiano. Uzu was with Gov. Obiano all through the campaign and knew Kasvid and I well. 

Kasvid and Mr. Hollywood at the meeting at Best Westham presented the script, summarized the story and aims behind the project. Uzu, as he is simply known, commended the idea and assured the governor would be happy to see the movie.

Then Kas told him that it was a big project and at that time he couldn’t single-handedly finance it. Could the governor assist? To which Uzu responded that the governor would not put a dime in the project for political reasons. But he, Uzu, would use his position to make sure once the movie was done that Kasvid would not only benefit but would be a very happy man.

With such firm promise, Kasvid went overdrive. One of the most stand-out qualities of Kas is being very financially reliable. Whenever it was money, Kas would do everything to keep to his word. So, despite being at the thick of recession, it wasn’t too difficult for him to raise the required funds. He knew people. Important people. He was a prominent member of the famous Diamond Club and he related quite well.

But Uzu assisted with an executive bus to convey the major stars to and fro locations. He equally provided some rooms at Trig Point and engineered access to some government establishments for landmark establishment shots.

So after about a month of running around, the movie shooting project kicked off with an elaborate audition at Queen’s Suites, Awka. I was there. And I was quite impressed and believed that the script would be delivered appreciably.

Shot in different locations in Anambra State, including Awka, Neni, Amawbia, Abagana Nnewi, Adazi, etc, it took nearly a month to wrap. Interestingly, Innoson, one of the patrons of AASEP, gave us one of his houses to use as governor’s office. 

Furniture were ‘imported’ from Asaba to try to replicate the real governor’s office. I was severally at the Nnewi shooting location.

Give it to him. Gov. Obiano loves class and we all agreed that any movie to attract his attention must be laden with glamour and professionalism. Script was already in a class of its own. So, crew, cast, equipment for pre, during and post productions must be all class.

Yul Edochie played the Governor. And my God, that was Yul at his best! He succinctly delivered character and spot-on dialogues, including intermittent Igbo (in perfect Aguleri dialect) to depict Gov. Willie Obiano’s daily usages. Maybe Yul enjoyed the fiction so much that he attempted to make it real by declaring to run for governorship (a story for another day).

With Bob Manuel Udokwu playing major role and Chido Obidiegwu playing a minor but very significant role, the masterpiece certainly wasn’t a project Akpokuedike was going to watch with just one eye.

To enhance everything, besides the best quality in lighting and sound, the post-production of editing and picture treatment were done in South Africa.

By early 2016 the movie was ready.

Kas and Mr. Hollywood came down to Awka with the master copy and invited me over to watch. Even with the tightest of editing the movie still stretched beyond two and half hours.

They both knew how critical I could be but despite a few writer’s misgivings, I hugged them one after the other for a job well done. By this time the movie had already gulped over N20 million.

Bob Manuel, Chido and finally Uzu were invited to watch and they all clapped for a masterpiece of a job.

Then Uzu took the micro-chip copy to show to the governor and the real hassles began.

Hassles that not only killed my friend’s dream but led to his death also.

Watch out for KASVID: HOW PEOPLE KILL OTHERS DREAM 3.