The Resurrection of the Cinematic Culture in Nigeria

Films such as The primitive, Primitive Man, Buffalo Hill were considered suitable while Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, The Isle of forgotten sins, House of Frankenstein were considered unsuitable for viewing. The Yoruba travelling theatre group of the 60’s and 70’s is renowned for being the arrowhead of movie productions in Nigeria. They took their theatrical skills a step further to film productions using the celluloid format.

Notable filmmakers during the 70’s celluloid boom era include but not limited to Ola Balogun, Eddie Uggbomah, late Herbert Ogunde, Adeyemi Afolayan (father of Kunle Afolayan), Moses Adejumo, Ladi ladebo, and Afolabi Adesanya. Movies released during that era include Kongi Harvest, Alpha, Bull frog in the sun, Amadi, Muzik man, Bisi daughter of the river, Ija ominira, Aiye. Our founding film makers were faced with the herculean task of raising funds to produce their movies.

Nigerians further worsened the situation by opting to watch movies of occidental and oriental origin at the cinemas and exhibition centres. Chinese films with the late legendary Bruce lee thrilled us with films such as Big boss, fist of fury, while Indian films from 60’s to 70’s paraded stars such as Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra singh deol, Amitabh bachchan, Hema Malini and recorded hits such as Bobby, Sholay, kabhi Kabhi, Dharamaveer, Amar Akbar Anthony.

The movies treated Nigerians to outstanding combat/sound and special effects, cinematography, good story lines amongst others. The founding fathers could not recoup their investments and with fewer investors unwilling to take a plunge into the dicey venture, the number of films produced began to decline. The deluge of VCRs in the 80’s provided the alternative of making movies on VHS format than on Cine. Productions turned out to be easier to make, faster, cheaper by a mile stone in comparison to the cine productions.

Cinema houses and other exhibition centres were finally shut down in the early 80’s. The 1992 rise of Ken Nebue’s “Living in bondage” brought forth the Home video industry a.k.a Nollywood, though it was debunked by late prince Alade Araomire who insisted that his movies actually paved the way for the industry. Nollywood, blossomed over the years with the telling of our stories, projecting our lifestyle, culture, local fashion, burning issues and problems affecting our society. However, the presence of over flogged themes and trippy plots, flawed scripts, choppy editing, high predictability rate, formulaic movies amongst others, have added to the declining rate at which home videos are purchased and watched. Home video thrived in the 90’s and early millennium. Foreign movies were still patronised by those who were tired of the lack lusture performances seen in home videos.

The cinematic culture was resurrected through the establishment of the Silver bird galleria (which houses the cinema) by chairman of the Silver bird group (Ben Murray Bruce). At first people thought it was a flash in the pan judging from the fall of yester years, but over time the galleria has played host to thousands of movie enthusiasts through its release of latest movies(dominantly Hollywood). The galleria capitalizes on its synergy (silver bird TV and rhythm 93.7fm radio station) and of course movie listings in Friday Vanguard and The Sunday edition of the Nation newspapers. Nollywood movies have also been accorded the same opportunity to be viewed by all.

Kunle Afolayan’s “Irapada”, Jeta Amata’s “The Amazing Grace”, kingsley Ogoro’s “Across the Niger”, Teco Benson’s “Mission to nowhere”, were among the early set of Nollywood movies viewed at the galleria. Perhaps, the booster for the film makers to have their movies on the big screen came with Stephanie Okereke’s “Through the Glass” which made N 10 million in two weeks at the galleria. This has further prompted filmmaker / producers to go for the big screen rather than the customary straight to the VCD /DVD approach. Tunde kelani’s “Arugba”, Vivian Ejike’s “Silent scandal”, Emem Isong/Desmond Elliot’s “Guilty Pleasures”, “Nollywood Hustlers” co-produced with Uche Jumbo, Lancelot Imaseun’s “Home in exile”, kunle Afolayan’s “The Figurine, araromire, Teco Benson’s “High blood pressure”, Jude Idada / Lucky Ejim’s “The Tenant” have towed the cinematic path.

Nu metro and Genesis Deluxe cinemas also exist and even the cinema halls at the National Theatre have come alive! Foreign investors can catch in on the growing profitable trend to establish cinema houses in other parts of the country. We can only hope that the cinematic culture will thrive across our Greenland and will never undergo the dearth experience of the 80’s.

Culture Cauldron – Cochin

“Aap logon ko Hindi nahin aati hai kya? (Don’t you know Hindi?)” Zahir’s comment catches us off-guard. We feel stupid. Zahir, a seaman-turned-shop errand boy-cum-rickshaw driver, tries to put us at ease as we ride from Fort Cochin to Willingdon Island. In fluent Hindi, he tells us of his trips to Lakshadweep, his early days at sea, how the once-busy Willingdon Island hardly sees any visitors now and why Onam means ‘big business’.

To Zahir, we are just ignorant tourists who believe Kerala’s only about blackwaters, spices and dark-skinned people who can’t speak the national language. We’ll learn soon, he hopes. And we do.

Island city

Like Mumbai, Cochin too is made of small islands – Willingdon Island, Fort Cochin, Vypeen, Vallarpadam and Bolghatty Island that are connected to the mainland Ernakulam. The airport is 30 kilometres away from the city. The ride in a prepaid taxi can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on the traffic.

Born in a storm

“Cochin was born in a storm, nurtured in rivalry, and established as the crossroads of the Battling Empires of Europe: Portuguese, Dutch and British,” we read in a tourist guide. “In the 1340’s, torrential rains filled the Periyar River which broke through to the Arabian Sea and formed Cochin’s protected harbour. Trading ships soon sailed in and out,” the guide says. We look at the tall coconut palms bent over like old woman over the crisscrossing canals formed by the backwaters. This is almost Alleppy, we think.

Harbour front

Willingdon Island is where Cochin harbour is located. The magnificent Port Trust building with its rotating helicopter-like blades stands tall among other structures. Willingdon is like a ghost-town. It doesn’t have markets, shops and business centres. The old airport is now operated by the Navy and Harbour Station sees only goods trains. The commute to Fort Cochin via the 79-year-old Harbour Bridge takes about 30 minutes and costs Rs 50. But, auto drivers quote Rs 150, the tourist rate. Take it or leave it, they say. We leave it and opt for the boat. At Rs 4 a ticket, the 10-minute ferry ride through the backwaters seems like a good idea. But it takes us an hour to find the jetty to embark from as there are no signboards for help.

Trade-marks

Since the 14th century Cochin has witness a stream of traders from Arabia and China. Chinese fishing nets are used till this day at Fort Cochin and make for a tourist attraction at sunset. European Jews fleeing persecution were among the first settlers at the Jew Town near the Mattanchery Palace. The Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, holds a unique record of Jewish presence in India. Every tile that makes up the synagogue’s floor bears a different pattern in blue. Though most Jews have left, the ones who remain still trade in spices and oil like their ancestors did with the Chinese centuries ago.

We search for traditional handicrafts in Jewtown’s shops only to find Kashmiri carpets, Rajasthani kathputlis and Kutchi embroidery.

In 1502, Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama came here seeking spices and converts. He found his spices, launched Europe’s great Age of Exploration and prayed in the first European church in Asia though his Roman Catholic Faith conflicted with Cochin’s ancient Syrian Christian religion (there are numerous churches dedicated to this faith). The Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch who then surrendered to the British who still continued trading in spices, coir, rubber and tea.

Spice, spice, baby

Looking for spices, we reach Mattanchery, the largest spice market in the city. We haggle with the storeowner of Kendu Spice Dealers to give us a fair price on cardomoms (Rs 1200/kg), black pepper (Rs 320/kg) and cloves (Rs 600/kg) ignoring the anises, cinnamon bark and saffron. We bargain hard, tell him we’re not foreign tourists. He gives us a discount, “Only Rs 25. Take it or leave it.” We take it this time.

Payasam, pappadam and pink water!

We are lucky to have been invited to a wedding feast. As we settle down in our seats, a man comes along with a steel bucket to serve us pickles and crunchy pappadam on our banana-leaf plates. He then brings to us avial, veggies, dal and chutneys. Next is rice and piping hot sambhar. A man pours pink liquid into our glasses. “Water. It’s pink because of cumin,” a co-diner tells us. Dessert comes in the form of lip-smacking jaggery-sweetened payasam (south Indian kheer).

The reception menu is simpler, a much informal affair. We eat rice, chicken roast, raita, sambhar and vegetables out of thermacol plates.

Oh fish!

Hotel Casino’s Fort Cochin restaurant is the best bet for seafood. The restaurant offers no menu. They bring us the catch of the day in a tray and ask us to pick the fish and the spices. We opt for the local delicacy karimeen (black fish from the backwaters), delicious squid masala and prawns (all without the overpowering taste of coconut) with appam. The cost: Rs 1,480, but who’s complaining? In a place born of the sea, where its people live by it, it’s only fair if we eat off it too.

Why India Needs Culture of Entrepreneurship in Classrooms

While there are successful examples of young innovators like PC Musthafa (iD Fresh), Sampriti Bhattacharyya (Hydroswarm) and Vijay Sharma (One97), the harsh reality is that an inordinately large number of start-ups fail. That’s the reason why academic institutions and organisations must assist and support the development of entrepreneurs in order to ensure high survival rate.

Young Indian entrepreneurs are making headlines with regularity. After an entire generation of cautious Indians who viewed entrepreneurship with suspicion-preferring stable and predictable careers in government service, banks, as doctors, lawyers and engineers-the tide is turning. There is optimism in the air as young entrepreneurs are daring to go global, drive innovation and experiment with unique business models.

The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report reflects this important cultural shift. The report noted that 58% of Indian adults (18-64 years old) consider entrepreneurship a desirable career choice and 66% think that entrepreneurs receive a high level of status and respect. And this is not just because Indian tech entrepreneurs are becoming global rock-stars. It is because young entrepreneurs from every sector-from agriculture to manufacturing-are putting India on a new path of growth and development.

Take the story of 42-year-old PC Musthafa, who quit a well-paying bank job in Dubai to return to India because he wanted to create job opportunities for the rural youth. He started iD Fresh Food, a dosa batter company, with his cousins, 550 square feet of space, two grinders, a mixer and a sealing machine. They began by selling 10 packets of batter a day. Today, iD Fresh Food sells 50,000 packets a day, has expanded its product range to ready-to-eat foods, and is a R100 crore company employing 1,100 people. Musthafa’s goal is to become a R1,000 crore company employing 5,000 people in the next five years.

Among the more innovative ideas his company is exploring is that of a Trust Shop-in apartment complexes and corporate offices-where you can pick up idli-dosa batter, ready-to-eat wheat parathas and chapatis, and drop the money in a box at the store. The store has no salesmen and is not monitored by cameras to keep an eye on shoppers who don’t pay. The stores are proving to be a success. Shoppers who don’t have money on them are coming back the next day to drop the cash. It is a unique low-cost model that can be scaled, ensuring that prices are kept low and stores are conveniently accessible 24×7.

Now let’s take the case of 28-year-old Sampriti Bhattacharyya, whose company Hydroswarm designs and manufactures autonomous drones that can scan ocean floors, look for lost aircraft, identify oil spills, and spot radiation under the sea.

Entrepreneurs and innovators like these are playing a major role in bringing unique ideas, offerings and business models to market-ideas that large companies don’t want to explore because they don’t have a clear and well-charted future and could pose a risk to their growth plans.

One recent study by a leading analyst has suggested that the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector-which includes such entrepreneurs-will increase its contribution to India’s GDP from the 8% share in 2011-12 to 15% by 2020.

The growth is not just because young Indian entrepreneurs are daring to dream up great new ideas, but also because they understand the value of hiring the best talent in the country. Take Vijay Sharma’s One97 Communication, the digital goods arm of Paytm. Sharma’s company announced its expansion into Europe and the US this July, using some of the best business talent in the country to enable the growth. In other words, Indian entrepreneurs are aware of what it takes to be globally competitive.

Going global should not be difficult for Indian entrepreneurs. Today, the best minds in the country are dreaming of entrepreneurship. This year’s IIT-JEE topper, Deepanshu Jindal, says that after graduation he wants to become an entrepreneur. Youngsters from prestigious educational institutions all over the country such as the IITs and IIMs are showing similar inclinations.

All this makes great news. But the harsh reality is that an inordinately large number of start-ups fail. Studies have shown that 47% of the jobs created by start-ups are eliminated because the business folds up in the first five years. This emphasises the importance of having academic institutions and organisations to assist and support the development of entrepreneurs in order to ensure a higher survival rate.

If India is to continue on its growth path, the contribution of entrepreneurs to wealth creation will play a pivotal role. This is why the importance of including entrepreneurship as part of standard curricula cannot be undermined. We must begin by creating a formal culture of entrepreneurship starting in classrooms where young minds and the nation’s future are shaped.

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