KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 2 -- Veteran producer and filmmaker Datuk Yusof Haslam has revealed that he once pledged his young son's birth certificate to an 'along' - an unlicensed moneylender - to raise capital for his first drama project, a gamble he says marked the real beginning of his career in television and film.

Speaking on the Buat Saja Podcast, Yusof, 71, said desperation and belief in himself pushed him to take extraordinary risks in the mid-1980s, the New Straits Times reported today.

After operating Restoran Haslam for just five months, Yusof set up Skop Productions in 1985, coinciding with RTM's newly launched drama privatisation initiative. The tender - worth RM300,000 - was a rare opportunity, but one he was financially unprepare...