Mwai Simbota is one versatile media personality from Malawi who gained stardom for her creative roles of acting and presenting programmes on radio.
She is a radio personality working for the State-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Radio 2 with a gifted voice and style to presenting programmes. Apart from acting and presenting programmes on radio, Mwai is also a closeted poet.
She described herself in four powerful words: passionate, serene, creative and witty.
“I love what I do. Telling stories is what defines me on both fronts; radio and film. Above all, I put a lot of creativity to make my art exceptionally successful,” said Mwai.
She gained praise on the country’s acting scene for her impressive roles in popular films such as Misnomer, a movie directed by a US-based film maker Chaz Munthali. Misnomer is about the abductions and killing of persons with albinism in which Mwai plays Cece (Cecelia).
Mwai also appeared in a series called Mushroom Shade as Yakosa and Elsie Siliya in Choices and All We Have is Us produced by Ashukile Mwakisulu. Her debut appearance in these movies earned her the first award as the Best Actress at the Film Association of Malawi (Fama) festival in 2022.
In 2023, she also received her second award (Best Actress) at the Sotambe International Film Festival in Lusaka, Zambia, for her incredible performance in a feature film, Misnomer.
Actor and film director Ashukile Mwakisulu praised Mwai as one of Malawi’s rare talents.
“She is one of the amazing actresses Malawi has ever had. Her zeal and natural abilities make her the best choice of every cast,” he said.
Mwai said she was inspired by the popular childhood game called zawana (za ana) to become an actress.
“I have always been fascinated by the art of acting since I was a child. I took playing za wana way too seriously than my friends, playing a character was always a sweet escape into another world of endless possibilities,” recalled Mwai.
A last born in a family of three, Mwai has an older brother and sister whom she says she loves dearly and have raised her since she was nine years old after the death of their parents.
And growing up, she said she became passionate about watching movies.
“Getting introduced to movies sealed my love for acting and all I did was do my own rehearsals at home and just waiting for an opportunity,” said Mwai.
She said she was excited to fulfill one of her passions, acting, years later. Thus she did not regret venturing into it.
“My best moments are usually on set, when I get immersed and fully absorbed by the character and I forget about me, and it’s all about telling that character’s story. And of course, my best moment is when also people say they enjoy what you do, that is also fulfilling and makes it worthwhile.
She, however, bemoaned a slow growth when it comes to professional acting.
“I will say we are slowly moving forward but, of course, a lot is still yet to be done in order to have this industry just as successful in entertainment as music and sports,” she said.
On the media front, she joined the industry soon after completing her studies in Journalism. Her professional media journey began towards the end of 2013 when she joined the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).
“I enjoyed what I did before in the online section, but the fun did not fully start until I joined radio. I love what I do, and I’m very happy with my Radio 2FM family,” said Mwai.
Unlike others who struggle to balance two trades at once, Mwai branded her acting and media role (radio presenter) as a perfect match.
Mwai said: “I am lucky, no pun intended that my two worlds collide perfectly without one overwhelming the other. I call it a perfect marriage, the two have their own ways of complementing each other and making it easy for me to balance the two different industries.”
On his part, Mwakisulu said Simbota is an accomplished actress.
“She is good at what she does and her future is bright. The film industry is growing,” he said.
