Abel Mutua, a film director and actor, has recounted the day he was attacked in Nairobi CBD by a fan over his character in Citizen TV's Tahidi High.
Mutua revealed in an interview with Mic Cheque Podcast that he was attacked by an enraged fan who felt he was interfering with OJ (Dennis Mugo) and Tanya's (Sarah Hassan) romance on the show.
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"What used to surprise me was how the audience used to take the show very personally. I was once beaten in town for always cockblocking OJ (Dennis Mugo) when trying to hit on Tanya (Sarah Hassan) on the show.
"He was trying to hit on Tanya, and then I came and messed up the whole plan. So one day I was walking along Kimathi Street and someone really slapped me hard on my back saying 'wachana na watu wapendane bwana'. He was very angry with me," Mutua narrated.
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The former Tahidi High actor reminisced that he nearly died after fainting in the bathroom.
"I fainted in the bathroom naked, with only the household in the house. She was the only one at home, so she had to help me.
"I had overworked myself coz I had just gotten my first child. I had the fear of, My kid is here; I can't give them excuses; you have to provide.
"I used to write scripts for Tahidi High and Mother-In-Law. I used to go for Tahidi during the day as a cast and when the scene was not mine, I went behind the camera to shoot because I was still a camera operator. When people finish the day and go to sleep I embark on writing the script for the next episode," he said.
"I used to reach home and start writing by the time I was done, the alarm went off so I had to shower and go back on set,".
The act of playing multiple roles on TV took its toll on Mutua, who suffered from burnout and fainted in the shower.
Abel Mutua said that he had to devise a method of allocating himself to fewer scenes to get some rest on set.
During the interview, Mutua explained that as the scriptwriter, he had to create a situation where he could at least kiss Tanya (Sarah Hassan) on set.
"Tanya was very polite on the show…. But in the second last scene of my episode as a writer on the show, I kissed her. It was the script saying that,' he said.
