Filmmaker and actor Flora Suya has been on track leading television drama series that the country has followed with keen interest. The list includes Mdyangu and Mfumukazi that air on Times Television. In her grind, she keeps on pushing the strides with an aim of putting Malawi on the global stage. SAM BANDA JNR caught up with her in this interview

You have grown your base in the production of television drama series, feeding a number of television stations. What do you have on your plate to this far?

I have ‘Mdyangu’ and ‘Mfumukazi’ that air on Times Television and then ‘Inside Diaries’ which is on MBCTV2.

What inspired ‘Mdyangu’?

I never used to be a fan of comedy until I watched ‘Two and A half Man’ on DStv. What made this comedy appeal to me is how the humour is never forced, but the characters and stories are naturally funny. I told myself that one day I would produce comedy and I will find someone who could write very well. The day came when unexpectedly, I met a friend at Times Television, and he asked me if I had already submitted samples for the comedy that The Times Group was looking for. I did not think I was ready, so I consulted my brother and two friends, and we started brainstorming and came up with a concept of the landlord and his tenants and Mdyangu’s name fit perfectly because of a late uncle who called everyone Mdyangu, meaning my friend and people also called him by the same name. He was a funny character, hence the adoption of that name, and I can confidently say I got the inspiration from the way he lived his life. May his soul rest in peace.

What about ‘Mfumukazi’ and ‘Inside Diaries’?

As for ‘Mfumukazi’, it was inspired by Times Group Managing Director, Mr Leonnard Chikadya. He asked me to cast Nanyoni (Enifa Chiwaya) in Mdyangu and when I thought of Nanyoni’s energy, I decided to create a totally different comedy that would feature her as the main character and that is how ‘Mfumukazi’ was born. For ‘Inside Diaries’, when I was in the United States of America in 2017, I had plenty of free time because the play I was in was rehearsed from 6pm to 9pm and I found myself watching a lot of series, especially, ‘Orange is the new black’. It is set in prison and I thought that having my own Malawi version would be great and that is how I conceived it.

What has been the response since you started these drama series taking into consideration that you were into making movies?

I was amazed at how people reacted to the teasers I produced before the actual series. People called, and they said they could not wait for the production. It made me nervous, but when we started airing them in 2020, I felt at ease because it was evident that ‘Mdyangu’ stole people’s hearts quicker than I expected.

How much has changed in your creati