Chopwicho reigns in Malawi film industry: Chopwicho 2 to be out soon

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Chopwicho - Precious Denja

If watching comedy on television is one of your hobbies then you might recall the name Chopwicho which was passing through the lips of many people in Malawi.

In Chopwicho series, the main character Chopwicho acted by Precious Denja displayed himself as a mad and illiterate person.

But anyone would be wrong to imagine that Denja’s real life behaviour mirrors that of Chopwicho.

Chopwicho - Precious Denja
Chopwicho reigning on the film industry.

‘”I act the character, if the character is a mad person Precious will turn into that person,” said Denja.

“In my movie I kept my beards for 9 months without shaving just to look aged but am older in Story Workshop’s series than in Baboon where am also an illiterate and somebody so furious,” he added.

Five years after Chopwicho was released on DVD in 2011, Chopwicho 2 will be out soon but the question would be, will Denja match his first performance?

The 45 year-old who holds an advanced Certificate in Accounting through London Chamber of Commerce and Industries commenced his acting career on stage in 1990 with the then Drama Group.

He also worked with Wakhumbata Drama Group.

Denja has appeared in films like Got a Lesson, Mission On, Who Cares of Story Workshop, Baba’s Son by a German national, Chimwemwe of Flora Suya and Arthur Chokotho’s When Spackles Are Lost.

He also featured in radio plays like Zimachitika, Mbali Yanga and Pakachere aired on MBC Radios 1 and 2. Currently he plays Theatre of the Air on Radio 2.

His name can appear on both the cast and the crew. For instance in his own project, Crazy Baboon, he wrote the script, directed, acted, shot and edited the movie himself.