Legendary actress Leleti Khumalo will appear in the updated “Muvhango” when it premieres on television soon.
Earlier past month, the long-running SABC 2 soapie “Muvhango” abruptly announced its end without notice to viewers.
Like a soap opera plot, “Muvhango” is back in production, with the actors and crew back at work. There will be new faces in the cast, such as Leleti Khumalo.
Word of Mouth Pictures and the SABC have reached a deal to bring “Muvhango” back to screens soon.
On Thursday evening, the cast, new and old, gathered in Fourways to celebrate the resumption of work on “Muvhango”. Before the big revelation, the organizers had the media guessing as to why we assembled on a chilly night.
After some traditional Venda dancing, fire performers and dancers, and red carpet photos, it was announced that the show would be returning to the screens.
The cast members strolled the red carpet together, seeming happy to be reunited.
Duma Ndlovu, the show’s creator, and Grammy Award-winning music producer Lebo M posed for photos with iconic actress Leleti Khumalo, who plays Dr. Nonhlanhla Ximba in “Muvhango”.
Khumalo previously collaborated with Ndlovu as an executive producer and talent on the e.tv series “Imbewu”. She told the media that when she received the call, she wondered, “Why not?” and had some reservations.
“I’m joining ‘Muvhango’ and it has been there forever and I was like, are you making a mistake, what are you doing? Because it’s not going to be easy. It’s like finding a home that is fully furnished and warm and you need to add that touch.
“It’s going to need me to dig more inside, I’m playing a character that has not been played by Leleti before, which is amazing because as actors we always look for challenges. I’m very excited, very nervous and I’m back home”.
Joining a production that has had a rocky few months, with a fall in audience ratings and SABC facing financial issues, noted that these obstacles affect all projects, not only “Muvhango”.
“We need to come up with something that takes us out of these challenges. We need to come up with new ideas and it’s not ‘Muvhango’ only that has these challenges, most productions in South Africa have these challenges.
“It’s a matter of coming up with a different style of producing stories in South Africa, so that as actors we don’t find ourselves giving and getting nothing. We must get something, to give.”
Ndlovu couldn’t help but throw shade towards the media for reporting that the production had reached the end of the road as he reflected on the production’s history and return.
Ndlovu in his speech, highlighted the show’s impact on viewers and how they have listened to them over the years and continue to do so.
“What you’re going to be seeing this season is probably the most dramatic change and growth you’ve seen because our viewers demanded that we go fancier, younger, fashionista, bold.
“They wanted us to continue telling stories, they didn’t want us to lose the DNA of the show but they wanted us to spice things up.
“What you are going to see is us, responding to the spicing of things. We have a new logo, new title sequence and young people we are working with.”
The creator added that the broadcaster told them to go crazy with their plans for the revised season, so they chose to bring back some older characters and rework them into the plot, including Liteboho Molise, Lebo Tisane, and Wiseman Zitha.
Out at the rebirth of #Muvhango27. Yes, the cast is back to shooting and Leleti Khumalo has joined the cast @sabc2 @MuvhangoSA @IOL_Lifestyle @IOL pic.twitter.com/7eXILHwpom
— Oluthando Keteyi (@ThisLove_K) July 25, 2024
Lala Tuku, acting group executive of SABC video entertainment, spoke openly about the realities that “Muvhango” and the broadcaster are facing. She claimed that there was a disagreement in the negotiation room over the inheritance property.
“The reality is that the SABC derives its revenue from advertising. We require audiences to choose to watch our content. The reality is we have brilliant content on our platform and we need our audiences to select it and come in.”
“At the end of the day, it is the rands and the cents. The authenticity of the show, the boldness of the storytelling – we just could not do away with it.”
