Cornet Mamabolo is gearing up to make his acting comeback.
In 2021, Cornet stepped away from his role as Tbose on SABC 1’s Skeem Saam - a character taken over by Hungani Ndlovu - to focus on his business ventures. Now he is returning to the industry, reuniting with director Tebogo Malope for a project that marks a significant evolution in his career.
He plays the role of Peter Mokaba in the upcoming film, Studying Under the Barrel of a Gun, which tells the story of resistance and resilience at the University of the Limpopo.
“When he [Tebogo] explained the story to me about the occupation that happened at the university, and I managed to get hold of material that inspired the movie, his vision around the movie gave me comfort. I think this is a beautiful project to be part of,” Cornet told TshisaLIVE.
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He is also making his debut as an executive producer.
“Having to engage the guys who are in the story, that were part of that generation of 1986, to sit down with them and get to hear their story, that alone is inspiration [and] motivation enough to want to do justice to the story and the movie itself.
“I’m playing a big guy in the movie, but he’s not the main character in the movie. Peter Mokaba is at the centre of our politics and has inspired a lot of people that are in government as we speak. Obviously, the expectations are a lot from me. It’s exciting for me to play Peter Mokaba. We all look up to him. We know he’s one of the strong activists who contributed a lot towards the democracy of this country.”
With the film being based on real-life events, Cornet spoke of how he had prepared for his contribution to the film.
”I’ve never produced anything for the screen, so this will be the first really. This role is a tough one, it’s exciting. I enjoy creating work and seeing things coming together. I’m used to being an actor on set, the problem child on set. This time around the tables have turned, it comes with a lot of pressure especially because it’s a self-funded project ... It’s challenging but it’s worth it,” he said.
The film, which introduces fresh new talent from Limpopo, also features lekompopo star King Monada, who makes his acting debut as one of the Black Jacks in the film alongside comedian Mashabela Galane.
“I studied this thing before comedy. I was so impressed that we have a story like this. I’m so excited to be part of this. University of Limpopo contributed so much, but we were not taught these things,” Mashabela told TshisaLIVE.
While he does not play a big role, Mashabela said he had to improvise on the role he played.
”They wanted me to bring the comedy since it’s an emotional movie. Because the directors are familiar with me, it was easy to work with me because I’ve done this before; it was a matter of coaching people like Monada to be comfortable.”
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