Opinion / Columnist
I am not keen on coming back to Zimbabwe
10 May 2015 at 05:14hrs | Views
TALKING of popular television dramas in Zimbabwe will not be complete without mentioning such dramas as Mukadota, Paraffin, Sinjalo with the comic characters Sakhamuzi and Foromani, Hlengiwe Mntanami, Awu Bakithi and the Gringo series.
These are just some of the popular dramas that were aired on television but what is more interesting in the television dramas is that they, like all plays, movies and any other forms of film, are created from a carefully written script that is matched with the characters to produce the final product whose main aim is usually to convey a message in an entertaining way.
Although script writers remain the central focal point from where the drama or film revolves and get its direction, they in most cases remain in the background and are usually not part of the cast.
They are therefore the originators of the stories that are given life by the cast. It therefore usually goes that a bad script will always produce a dull production even with an able cast.
The above dramas were popular because they were written by seasoned and talented script writers. Writers who knew how to create characters that kept families glued to their television sets with their wit and humour.
Sunday Leisure spoke to one of the young, versatile and renowned script writers Enock Chihombori who penned the Gringo series and Cobra which was a boxing drama series.
Chihombori is not just a script writer who, like many of his counterparts, remains in the background. He also took up the challenge in one of the Gringo drama series where he acted as Toby and did justice to the character that he allocated himself.
The writer, who has won several awards for his work, relocated to Botswana where he is working at a mine. He told this paper that there were no rewards coming from his work, something that forced him to look for work in Botswana.
He said he was now concentrating on writing and drawing during his spare time while pursuing a career in Mechanical Draughting.
He, however, said people should not be quick to write him off the television drama writing saying although there were no rewards to talk of if a sponsor came by he would be happy to do another Gringo.
Chihombori added that although the payments at the national broadcaster were good at first they were no longer so rosy in the last few years of their dealing together.
He said, "At first it was ok, but ended up not so rosy."
The lack of rewards forced him to be part of economic migrants. He has taken his family with him and said he was not very keen on returning to the country.
"There were no rewards and I am indeed pursuing a career in Mechanical Draughting. We made a terrible loss due to piracy with our last Gringo film. I will always be writing though and if a sponsor comes along, I have no problem doing another Gringo.
"For the meantime I am concentrating mainly on writing and drawing during my spare time but I can't distribute my books in Zim because I am afraid of book piracy that is too rife. Publishing companies are on their knees because of book piracy. Most textbooks have been pirated in Zim," he said.
Chihombori said he was still an artiste and would always do art part-time.
On his cast that usually consists of Lazarus Boora (Gringo), Blessing Chimhowa (Mbudziyadhura) and Chati Butao (Godobori) in one of the Gringo drama series he has this to say, "Sometimes it's not the script that's funny. Sometimes the way the actors handle the script is what brings out the humour.
"I always say I was lucky to meet actors who understand the script and go further to bring out much more through their acting abilities. Lazarus Boora does that by being hugely innovative on set. Blessing Chimhowa (Mbudzi) does that by completely getting into the character such that you think he is Mbudziyadhura in real life.
"Like many great actors from Mabvuku, Chati Butao (Godobori) simply has that stage presence that makes him outstanding whenever he is on set. Now I remember when we did the first Gringo in 1998. The late Collin Dube (John Banda) gave us a bit of problems with his acting abilities. He always acted as if he was on a theatre stage. High volume and exaggerated moves.
"The director tried hard to control his movements but it was hard to change the way he was used to acting. He was very vocal. The director was concerned, but surprisingly enough his way of expressing himself was accepted by the viewers. I am really surprised that people still talk about him, but he only acted in two Gringo series about 15 years ago. I still miss him and his ways. Lucky to have shared his company," he said.
Chihombori did six Gringo television series, three Gringo short stories on DVD and one Cobra boxing drama series.
These are just some of the popular dramas that were aired on television but what is more interesting in the television dramas is that they, like all plays, movies and any other forms of film, are created from a carefully written script that is matched with the characters to produce the final product whose main aim is usually to convey a message in an entertaining way.
Although script writers remain the central focal point from where the drama or film revolves and get its direction, they in most cases remain in the background and are usually not part of the cast.
They are therefore the originators of the stories that are given life by the cast. It therefore usually goes that a bad script will always produce a dull production even with an able cast.
The above dramas were popular because they were written by seasoned and talented script writers. Writers who knew how to create characters that kept families glued to their television sets with their wit and humour.
Sunday Leisure spoke to one of the young, versatile and renowned script writers Enock Chihombori who penned the Gringo series and Cobra which was a boxing drama series.
Chihombori is not just a script writer who, like many of his counterparts, remains in the background. He also took up the challenge in one of the Gringo drama series where he acted as Toby and did justice to the character that he allocated himself.
The writer, who has won several awards for his work, relocated to Botswana where he is working at a mine. He told this paper that there were no rewards coming from his work, something that forced him to look for work in Botswana.
He said he was now concentrating on writing and drawing during his spare time while pursuing a career in Mechanical Draughting.
He, however, said people should not be quick to write him off the television drama writing saying although there were no rewards to talk of if a sponsor came by he would be happy to do another Gringo.
Chihombori added that although the payments at the national broadcaster were good at first they were no longer so rosy in the last few years of their dealing together.
The lack of rewards forced him to be part of economic migrants. He has taken his family with him and said he was not very keen on returning to the country.
"There were no rewards and I am indeed pursuing a career in Mechanical Draughting. We made a terrible loss due to piracy with our last Gringo film. I will always be writing though and if a sponsor comes along, I have no problem doing another Gringo.
"For the meantime I am concentrating mainly on writing and drawing during my spare time but I can't distribute my books in Zim because I am afraid of book piracy that is too rife. Publishing companies are on their knees because of book piracy. Most textbooks have been pirated in Zim," he said.
Chihombori said he was still an artiste and would always do art part-time.
On his cast that usually consists of Lazarus Boora (Gringo), Blessing Chimhowa (Mbudziyadhura) and Chati Butao (Godobori) in one of the Gringo drama series he has this to say, "Sometimes it's not the script that's funny. Sometimes the way the actors handle the script is what brings out the humour.
"I always say I was lucky to meet actors who understand the script and go further to bring out much more through their acting abilities. Lazarus Boora does that by being hugely innovative on set. Blessing Chimhowa (Mbudzi) does that by completely getting into the character such that you think he is Mbudziyadhura in real life.
"Like many great actors from Mabvuku, Chati Butao (Godobori) simply has that stage presence that makes him outstanding whenever he is on set. Now I remember when we did the first Gringo in 1998. The late Collin Dube (John Banda) gave us a bit of problems with his acting abilities. He always acted as if he was on a theatre stage. High volume and exaggerated moves.
"The director tried hard to control his movements but it was hard to change the way he was used to acting. He was very vocal. The director was concerned, but surprisingly enough his way of expressing himself was accepted by the viewers. I am really surprised that people still talk about him, but he only acted in two Gringo series about 15 years ago. I still miss him and his ways. Lucky to have shared his company," he said.
Chihombori did six Gringo television series, three Gringo short stories on DVD and one Cobra boxing drama series.
Source - sundaynews
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