Sue na Johnnie sunk me into 3mill Ksh debt – Phil Karanja

Philip Karanja, a well-known director, claims that the creation of the once-popular comedy series Sue Na Jonnie, which aired on Showmax, left him and his colleague Abel Mutua destitute and in debt by Sh3 million.

Nearly five years after founding their production firm Phil-It, Karanja, also known as Phil, stated to Showbuzz that Sue Na Jonnie was their first film to be accepted by a broadcaster.

Since deciding to go it alone with their company rather than continuing to rely on being employed by other production houses, the former Tahidi High actors have been searching for employment.

As a director and a scriptwriter, respectively, Phil claims they had been able to find work, but not as a group.

They knocked on every door with their ideas for four good years, but we were denied.

“So when luck struck and our Sue Na Jonnie concept was picked up by MNet, we came in with the idea that we wanted to change the industry, we wanted to improve the welfare of actors. We ended up overpaying the cast and crew, and by the time we finished the first season, we were Sh3 million in debt.”

Because of the dire circumstances, “while our cast members were driving cars, we were hoping into matatus.”

Fortunately, because of the show’s strong ratings, more seasons were ordered, and Phil and Abel were forced to reconsider the contracts with their cast and crew.

“It was a difficult conversation because the actors questioned why we were reducing their salaries when the show was actually doing well and pushed for an increase instead.”

Phil claims that because they were primarily passionate about making movies at the time and overlooked the economic side of the project, their downfall was a lack of business acumen.