Filming of the highly anticipated Issakaba remake ended last week, after the cast and crew of the action-packed thriller spent over a month on location in Asaba.
While the filming lasted, the Issakaba boys were the talk of the town, as residents and passers-by besieged the streets of Asaba to catch a glimpse of the movie.
One character who resonates with the people, and whose return on set is greeted with excitement is Samuel Dedetoku, popularly known as Sam Dede. He played the lead character as Ebube when the movie was first released in 1999.
Twenty five years later, the veteran actor is playing the same character again. In his encounter, he shares his excitement playing the lead role again. He regretted that the evil Issakaba boys fought against 25 years ago is still with us till date, even as he challenges Nigerian filmmakers to make more films that will address the country’s social woes, rather than churning out what he calls “senseless love stories.” He also talks about his love for grooming talents and why he’s always playing tough roles in movies among other things.
25 years ago, you played the lead character in the action-packed thriller, Issakaba and you are playing the role again. What is new about this role?
It’s telling us that those bandits that Issakaba boys fought against 25 years ago have not changed. They are still here with us. Before now, we were dealing with armed robbers, but the dimension of kidnapping, ritual killings have become stronger than those things we fought against 25 years ago. It’s a call to serve our community and ‘Issakaba’ overtime has become a metaphor for justice and fighting against crimes in society. So, we are back to fight against those crimes again. And we hope that the viewers will get to understand what we are back to fight against now.
When you were invited to play the role again, how did you feel?
It’s an opportunity for us to remind ourselves that nothing has changed in society. Rather, those who sacrificed their lives for our society had been forgotten. Look at the Issakaba boys who sacrificed their lives to bring sanity to society . There’s a scene in the movie, where some of the boys died due to lack of medical facilities. It’s quite a touching role to play. This time, we are coming back with so much anger and vexation. The Issakaba boys seem to have given their blood and sweat for society and gained nothing in return. It’s not like they asked for anything. They are even treated like outcasts, they are forgotten heroes. Nothing has changed and more than anything else, we are trying to restore sanity to our homeland. It”s a duty call to everybody to realize this fact. We have to take our destinies in our hands.
The remake of Issakaba also reminds one of the role you played in the ‘Last Burial.’ Why are you always playing tough roles in movies?
This is one character that affected me emotionally. In many ways, I have seen myself in that character because you can easily relate with those crimes that the Issabaka group is fighting against. So, I relate with those things and I wish that one way or the other, some groups will emerge from the blues to fight against the lingering ills of society. I don’t think we should wait for the government to address these social issues for us. It looks as if we are in a no-headway-situation. Nobody seems to have a solution to the insecurity challenges in this country. We must begin to look for alternative solutions to the insecurity challenges in Nigeria.
On why I always play tough roles in movies, there’s no role I cannot play. But I think people prefer to see me play tough roles in action movies, especially after the role I played in “Blood Money” about 30 years ago. By the time we finished producing ‘Issakaba’ in 1999, everybody wanted me to play those tough roles in movies. However, many people do not know that I started my career as a director in Nollywood, working with the late Chico Ejiro, Fred Amata and Opa Williams. But people prefer to see me in front of the camera, instead of working behind the camera. It became a trend and I embraced it. So, I am an actor, I do less of directing and production,
You are also a lecturer at the University of Port-Harcourt!
I try to do my best, but the most important thing is to be in good health. If you have good health , you have everything . What you need is that extra energy to do other things. More than anything else , I function as a lecturer. I enjoy training people and seeing my students grow and becoming prominent figures in the movie industry. Actors like Rita Dominic, Monalisa Chinda-Coker, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Francis Duru and Lancelot Imasuen were my students. I feel very fulfilled and happy when I see any of them directing, while I am on set.
Do you think we should focus more on producing movies like Issabaka that deal with the ills of society?
My thinking has always been that we need to make more movies that will address social issues in Nigeria. Insecurity is becoming a way of life in this country. Why are we not addressing the issue in our films? Now, we are facing food shortage in Nigeria and nobody is writing a script to address the problem. All these senseless love stories we have been churning out must be put aside . We have a task as creative people to use our crafts to address these social problems facing this country.
How I got Sam Dede to play lead character – Lancelot
Meanwhile, revealing how he got Sam Dede to play the lead character in the movie, the director, Lancelot Imasuen said he was inspired to cast the veteran actor as Ebube in ‘Issakaba’ after his brilliant performance in the movie, “Last Burial” which was released about 30 years ago.
His words: “Then we were basking in euphoria of the success of “Last Burial’. So , from my artistic line of thought, there’s some level of similarity in the character and make up of the role that Sam Dede played in the movie. For me, he was invited based on what he did in the movie, “Last Burial.”
“The movie was massive, prompting my decision to cast him as the lead character in Issakaba.”
