Leleti Khumalo talks about the phenomenal success of Uzalo
|||One of South Africa’s living legends of the stage, TV and film, Leleti Khumalo has bet on another winning horse by being part of Uzalo, the hit local drama that airs on SABC1. Shot entirely in KZN, a production first for a show of its magnitude, Uzalo was an experiment that paid off. So successful was the show that its first episode garnered an incredible 5 million viewers, overtaking Generations.
“It was a risk for Uzalo to be shot outside Gauteng. I remember the producer sitting us down and saying that we all had to be together in the understanding that this was the first time that a big production was shot in KwaZulu-Natal. It is never easy to start something because it is always risky. Uzalo was like that. No one knew it would be this successful. The producers knew that they were making history, but they did not expect to be No 1,” said Khumalo, who was in Joburg last week.
On Uzalo, the actress plays Zandile Mdletshe, the wife of a pastor and a role that did not come easily to her.
“I remember being so sad after missing the auditions for the show when they started out. They told me I was late and I was hurt. I really wanted to be part of this history because I knew that KwaZulu- Natal has potential. It was only months later, after I had totally forgotten about it, that they called me and asked me to join the cast,” she recalled.
The other plus for Khumalo was that the cast was virtually unknown, making Khumalo stand out. This still did not make her feel like the star we think she is.
“I am working with young people who mostly haven’t done much on TV and they tend to look at me differently, but I keep telling them that I learn a lot from them, too.
“I have this habit of treating every production as if it was my first time in the industry. I block out everything that I have done and what I know because when I am on a new show, it is a different project and comes with different rules and expectations,” she said.
From the days of Sarafina through to her time on Generations, Khumalo has played a wide array of characters, but surprisingly nothing like what she is playing on Uzalo.
“When they told me about the character, I said ‘yes’ with my eyes closed. I knew it was going to challenge me every day. I did some research on it, which included visiting and spending time with several Christian women and picking different attributes from this or that one.
“In other characters that I have played before, I would put in a bit of myself, but on this one, I did not do that,” she explained.
The hype of the show, especially because it is being shot in Durban, means that the cast have become deities in KwaZulu-Natal.
“I love the fact that people meet me on the street and talk to me as if I am the character I play. They take these things too seriously, but that is good because it means we are touching lives,” said Khumalo.
But how long will Uzalo last?
“I think the possibilities are endless. It is up to the writers how far this can go. When a show becomes popular, writers tend to get comfortable and that kills shows. I think the writing pool needs new people every now and then to keep ideas fresh,” said the actress.
Uzalo airs on SABC1 at 8.30pm, Mondays to Wednesdays.