Actress Tinopona “Tin Tin” Katsande says next year will mark her return to the spotlight after taking a sabbatical from the silver screen and radio because of personal problems.
Tin Tin, who shot to fame as one of the leading actors in the once popular local Studio 263 soap, saw her star dipping after her sextape was leaked.
She was also in the news for the wrong reasons in the past few months after a turbulent relationship with the father of her child.
However, Tin Tin told the Standard Style soon after her one woman theatre performance of a play titled Hot Water Bottle in Harare that 2017 would be the beginning of a turnaround for her.
“I am looking forward to going back on TV next year,” she said. “So definitely Tin Tin will be back on the silver screen, although I cannot disclose more yet because I am still in script reading.
“But I am definitely coming back to radio as well, so the year will be on another level.”
She said the bad publicity had distracted her from what she wanted to achieve in life but it had also become a good life lesson.
“I have been distracted a lot by what happened to the extent that my personal life became public territory,” she said.
“I had to deal with things like that but if you are not careful as an artiste, especially in a polarised environment we live in unorasa zvipo zvawakapihwa [you end up losing your God-given talents].
“The emotional abuse, the spiritual abuse, everything that happens and people’s judgements in everything that happens, if you are not careful that could take over who you are.”
Tin Tin believes Zimbabweans must distinguish between artistes’ professional and personal lives.
“All I want to do is share what I have and hopefully people appreciate by forgetting the personal because you do not understand my life but, you know me because I am an actor, model and emcee,” she said. “So put the personal aside. yes, I know it is part of the package but let us focus on what I have to offer.”
Tin Tin feels critics are too harsh on the local arts industry as they don’t take into consideration that artists are also struggling to make a living.