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Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Correspondent

Interesting and funny lead roles give actors new names that they are likely to be known by and in most cases, they become more popular compared to their original names.

Most actors embrace their role names and even develop a habit of introducing themselves as the character they are known for on the big screen instead of their own names.

Such is the story of a Midlands State University film and theatre lecturer who is known by the name Pablo in social spheres and by his students and colleagues based on the role that he played on a ZBC television series in 2018.

Midlands State University (MSU)

Pabloz 5 was the comedy series title where Brighton Munaku played the role of Chamunorwa Matandabotso, a comic character who was trying his luck in a singing competition organised by a man called Pablo. Somehow, because of his successful articulation of the character, he ended up being referred to as Pablo by the viewers.

The name grew and spread outside television until the actor also started calling himself Pablo and introducing himself using the name.

“My fans started calling me Pablo after watching me on the show Pabloz 5. My name on the show was Chamu, but I guess fans loved the way I acted as I, on every episode, used to say “Ndirikutsvaga Pablo” (I’m looking for Pablo). I think it’s the way I said it and how I kept mentioning the name that led viewers to refer to me as Pablo.

“At first, I used to try and correct people and explain my role in the film, then I realised that as an artist, you can’t control what fans do or say about you. I had to leave it like that until I got used to both names and I’ve embraced the name as my own,” said Pablo.

Unlike many students who take up courses that they are not passionate about, Munaku knew from a tender age that he wanted to venture into film and theatre. He realised his acting talent when he was still in primary school. In high school, he formed a drama club and started following his career path.

The Pabloz 5 series became his stepping stone into the film industry. He has since starred in films on Zambezi Magic that include Toro, Guma Guma, Maroro and Botso and ZBCtv featured short films that include The Fake Prophet and Kinky.

He also plays the lead role of Dambudzo in the Midlands State University-produced television series Tsvakai which recently premiered on ZBCtv.

In 2021, Pablo was honoured with the Best Male Actor award by the Great Dyke Awards and he also scooped the Best Film Producer in the 2022 Great Dyke Awards.

Over the years, he has worked with popular Zimbabwean filmmakers including Eddie Ndlovu and Thabiso Daudi Phiri of the popular ZBCtv series Wenera, Derby Bheta of Wadiwa Wepamoyo and Godknows Chera – a producer whose films have made it on the big screen.

Munaku, a lecturer at the MSU Zvishavane campus said his lecturing journey at the institution in 2019 was something that he never envisioned.

“I started lecturing in August 2019 and I honestly never saw myself in the education system. I remember telling my mom that I wanted to do the Film and Theatre programme so that I could venture into television presenting, film directing and acting because I’d told myself that I’d never become a lecturer or anything close to it.

“As they say, we plan our lives, but God always has the final say. I ended up doing something that I thought was the worst thing and now I’m enjoying every moment of it,” he said.