Gurira tried to meet Tupaca��s mom

. Bruce Ndlovu
After the release of the late American rapper Tupac Shakura��s biopic All Eyez On Me last week, Zimbabwean actress Danai Gurira has revealed that she had frantically tried to meet with his mother, Afeni Shakur, to no avail on the months prior to her death.

Gurira plays Afeni, who died while the movie was still in production in May last year. The movie was released on June 16 on what would have been Tupaca��s 46th birthday and managed to outdo initial box office projections by racking up $26 million during its debut weekend opening.

In an interview that coincided with the moviea��s premiA?re, Gurira said she had tried to meet the late rappera��s mother as part of her research for the movie.

a�?Unfortunately I did not (meet her), but I tried desperately. I learnt later it was because she was in the last few months of her life,a�? she said.

According to Gurira, whose performance in the biopic has been hailed by critics, her role and Tupaca��s life had made her reflect on her own life back in Zimbabwe.

a�?There was something so powerful growing up in Zimbabwe and seeing the impact of this man across the world, and I saw it when I researched his mother too. It was an era where people spoke what was true,A� whether or not it was safe to say it. Thata��s something he got from his mother and the Panthers,a�? she said.

Gurira said Afeni, who was persecuted for most of her life by the American government because of her proximity to leaders of the Black Panther movement, was a beacon of hope because of her fight against adversity.

a�?She was a survivor who struggled to bring truth to the life that she embodied. She used her mind powerfully, and I have so much respect for that. I leave the role understanding the power of your mind and what you can do, even though the world says you cana��t,a�? she said.