‘Brrr’ advert star eyes South Africa movie industry

It is one of the most discussed commercials running on TV today with critics sharply divided on its appeal and marketing impact.

Some consider it as the same old stereotype about African leadership; others see it as attention grabbing; engaging and pleasing.

Initially shot for the sub-Saharan Africa market, the Coke Brrrr advert has been roaming across the world for the last three years or thereabouts.

On this whirlwind of television action is its lead actor, Charles Bukeko aka Papashirandula, who confesses that he has gone through eye-opening lessons on best industry practices that could be alienating him from the unregulated Kenyan industry he has served with dedication.

“I might be taking a back seat on the local scene to give others a chance,” says Mr Bukeko.

In the movie Makutano Junction where he has featured for some years, Bukeko is now an absent father—with one of his photographs staring from the wall.

In many TV instances, some characters are “killed” due to unavailability or offered leave from the storyline so that they disappear into mere names without faces.

Since last Friday, Mr Bukeko who also plays lead actor in Citizen TV’s Papashirandula has been out of town on another promotional tour in Asia.

After featuring in the highly hyped ‘Brrrrrr’ commercial, Mr Bukeko is constantly on plum international assignments as a brand ambassador with Coke holding his advertising rights for the next two years.

On the way, the father of two has earned star ratings that he previously used to interact with as fantasy stuff in foreign magazines—several million shillings according to insiders.

That’s not all.

These days, Mr Bukeko is increasingly flying to South Africa where the two versions of Brrrrr were shot, an industry he now considers better disciplined and very professional compared to the disorganised side of the Kenyan scene where anyone walks in and out of the set, and there are no industry standards or regulations.

Next year, Mr Bukeko debuts on a South African drama Philemon. This is a 60-something ranger in The Big Five that features some of the lead actors from across the continent plus someone from Europe to complete the picture. It is an M-Net drama set in a Safari lodge in Mpumalanga.

“The South African industry respects actors so much that they are ready to offer anything that will keep the actor in the best state of the mind for best results,” says Mr Bukeko.

Contracts are a matter professional life; a day is spent going through the document line by line. After signing a contract, champagne flows. Then there is a break between which the actor is pampered to keep them in good spirits and most imaginative mind.