Business is Business
Part 1
Saeed loved to talk about politics, and when Vladimir Putin began his invasion of Ukraine, he made sure to keep up to date with all the latest news to best equip himself for the long nights chewing khat and drinking Bisleri chinotto in the living room of Rasheed’s house.
A well-known taxi driver in Moscow, Saeed knew the roads like the back of his hand and made vested conversation with whoever took refuge in his car. People came to love him for that reason. So, when he first displayed his latest collection of burned DVDs, his customers thought it would be the perfect way to close the night. Years later when film and TV would be viewed almost entirely digital, Saeed did not fret. What made this hustle of his continue to thrive was simple: he only sold films in 1080p and on special occasions in 4K. He realised people had stopped using DVDs with the domination of streaming services and began selling USB sticks with an easy-to-install software that could be used to play the films on them. It was the only way he could stand out, and he did. Accompanied by a personal review of the latest film to join his collection, and intentional mention of the buffering he has to endure when he watches YouTube videos on his Smart TV often helped make sales too.
Saeed walks straight into the house, waving to Rasheed’s wife and taking a seat in the living room beside his favourite cushion. The khat has already been washed, the leafy green plant dripping on the floral tray and carpet as he grabs a strand. The dilation of Rasheed’s pupils suggests he started chewing hours ago.
“He has to take Kyiv,” claims Rasheed. “He’s already done too much.”
“That’s how it goes. How do you think all these countries got their land?” responds Saeed. “Nothing new.”
“But war is never good,” adds Rasheed, kissing his teeth.
“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. Everyone else killing people all over the world. Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Palestine. They don’t care about Ukraine. Someone is losing money. Trust me. This is business as usual.”
“We don’t know anything at the end of the day,” scoffs Rasheed, flicking the plastic bag filled with the remaining khat towards Saeed.
“Good man. Is this from your backyard?” asks Saeed as he opens the bag to taste the khat. Before Rasheed can reply, he shouts, “Wait, this is different to yours! Where’d you get this?”
What made driving his taxi so rewarding was the number of people Saeed met on an ordinary shift. Not to say that every customer was extremely kind, or he adored the potential pool of clients for his illegal business—that wasn’t the case. Saeed was simply a sociable person. He was the kind where if you jumped into the car as his last customer was leaving and caught a glimpse of the end of their conversation, you would have thought they were dear friends. He could extract the most intimate details of one’s life in just a short trip. He also loved to speak Russian with the natives and seeing the reactions on their faces at his level of proficiency amused him.
“Could you take me to Kizhi?” asks Natasha.
“The island near Lake Onega?”
“Your Russian is good. Yes, please.”
“I haven’t been there before. I will be stopping at the port?”
“Yes, that’s right. I will find a way from there.” He nods to her and indicates left. A lot scarcer with his words than usual, Natasha’s commercial attractiveness makes him choose his words carefully.
He only looks at her once through the rear-view mirror to confirm what his eyes had seen earlier, and the same compliments keep rushing to the front of his mouth whenever he wants to start a conversation.
“You’re quite beautiful. You must get it a lot,” mumbles Saeed.
“Not as much as you think,” laughs Natasha.
Saeed clears his throat. “What do you do for work?”
“I’m a director. I direct adult films.”
“Oh, that’s exciting. Any playing in the cinema?”
Natasha laughs again, “I don’t think that will ever happen.”
“You never know. Keep working hard and one day I’m sure you will have your movie on the big screen!”
She looks outside the window before her eyes return. “Unfortunately, after Putin’s latest announcement, I don’t think that will be happening.”
“What announcement?” Saeed turns the radio off completely although the volume was low already, hoping to arm himself with new information for his late nights chewing khat with Rasheed. He waits eagerly for her response.
“He announced that it is no longer illegal to pirate movies. Now, there’s no reason for people to go to the cinema anymore nor is there any reason for them to pay for films online.”
“What is he doing! Why would he do this!”
“I know! He is about to kill the film business. There’s enough piracy of adult films as it stands.”
“Is he insane? We have to stop him! There must be something we can do?”
Natasha hesitates. “Well, my colleagues are holding a small protest soon with other film studios and production houses. We’d love to have your support.” Natasha reaches into her bag and takes out a pamphlet. She places it on the central console between the front seats and leans back in her chair. Saeed raises the pamphlet to his eyes and reads the bold writing.
DON’T LET PUTIN KILL OUR BUSINESS!