Mudhara Bonzo comes alive in drama series The last picture of Lawrence Simbarashe (Mudhara Bhonzo) centre, with Timothy Tapfumaneyi (Timmy) left, and Tendai Maraeze Shonhiwa (Mbatata) during the last episode shot in 2017

Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Arts Reporter
A local drama chronicling the last shoots of the late comedian Lawrence Simbarashe, known as Mudhara Bhonzo on Timmy naBhonzo series, has hit the screen, airing on ZBCTV every Thursday.

The drama entitled “Tribute to Mudhara Bhonzo” and produced by Simbarashe’s sidekick Timothy Tapfumaneyi, who acted as Timmy, rekindles the romance with fans of the drama series.

It features old and new characters who include Chipo Tsumba, who plays Mai Chocolate, Daniel Mbanje (Sekuru Chandi), Charles Jekeseni (Doesmatter), Tendai Maraeze (Mbatata) and Tapfumaneyi, who returns as Timmy.

In an interview with The Herald Arts, Tapfumaneyi said the tribute was long overdue, although the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the première.

“The drama is a tribute to our late Mudhara. It begins with an episode shot in 2017 which happen to be the last shooting of ‘Mudhara Bhonzo’ while we were shooting Timmy na Bhonzo drama series,” he said.

“We could not continue with the episode during that time because that is when he started feeling sick. We kept the episodes and decided to start from them on the new tributary drama. We wanted to rekindle our relationship with our fans, continuing from where we left off.”

Tapfumaneyi said they discussed with ZBCTV so that it airs repeats of Timmy naBhonzo.

“We only have eight episodes so far and we are airing both new and old episodes which are being co-joined,” he said. “The show is aired every Thursday, but it might be changed to another day, we will announce it if that happens.”

Asked why they took so long working on the project, Tapfumaneyi said funding had been hindering them.

“In our field, funding is a major challenge,” said Tapfumaneyi. “We might have creative ideas, but those ideas need funding. I urge corporates to chip in so that our dreams are not shattered. For Tribute to Mudhara Bhonzo, we were assisted by Chitungwiza Municipality and it was a great move considering that our drama is centred on societal issues.”

Tapfumaneyi said they were working on a new drama series, “Matare” which he co-produced with actress Kessia Masona.

It talks about how couples can cope with belonging to different religions and that love conquers all if respected.

Simbarashe died on May 7, 2018 after battling diabetes for a long time.

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