Chronicle Editor
Yvonne Ncube, Showbiz Correspondent
Three episodes of the Intab’enkulu television series were successfully debuted on Sunday night at the Ster-Kinekor Cinema in Bulawayo, with a magnificent fusion of five languages including IsiNdebele, Shona, English, Bemba, and isiZulu making the series exciting.
The series, which premiered three days consecutively in Mashava, Harare, and Bulawayo from August 26, left the Bulawayo audience wanting more as the cast of 101 actors demonstrated remarkable talent with high-quality graphics that captivated many.
A 15-minute power outage at 19:05 p.m. turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it allowed the cast and audience to engage in a question-and-answer session during which the cast disclosed their experiences and journey while filming the show.
The TV series which is produced by Inhouse media in collaboration with Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) has four out of its nine main characters coming from Bulawayo. Greatjoy Hlatshwayo, Percy Soko, Samuel Malete and Tanaka Munyavhi all from Bulawayo had key roles in the cast.
In an interview with Chronicle Showbiz, film director Kuda Bwititi said the story is inspired by the great mountain of Shurugwi.
“Personally, my dreams have no limits. I was just talking to my friends and we decided to go to Shurugwi, there’s a big mountain and I must admit it’s an amazing scenery. We started talking to the locals who then told us that there’s a lot of partisan mining going on. We then started thinking about what story we can tell from what we have heard. That’s how the story started to develop from the mountain which was outstanding. It’s on the big mountain that the project is loosely based. At first, the series was titled Gomoguru and was later translated to Ndebele.
“Working with different casts, and speaking different languages was the most challenging part. Although it was difficult working with five different languages in terms of understanding each other we still managed to learn new languages and pull through. Most of the films that I have produced either have always had at least two languages so this was a first with multiple languages. I can say the experience was well done. The journey was difficult but we managed to deliver. The interesting thing is that the characters would speak in their language and the other would speak in their own,” said Bwititi.
In another interview, film director Ka Nhenga stated that the TV series is internally diverted from typical love storylines and instead reflects people’s real-life experiences.
“Intab’enkulu is not those usual love stories that we are so used to, it’s a depletion of a real-life story. Although we featured those a bit it was hard to completely ignore that aspect because it is reality. The actor managed to blend five languages together with the motive of making people belong and relate. If you look at human beings when you are given a language you kind of belong to the people who speak that language.
“So, we allowed the cast to be themselves and speak their own languages, we know now that we can touch people who are in Zambia because when they hear their own language and see their people in the film they would also relate and be obliged to watch the movie. The film will also hit Bulawayo because they can identify their language same applies to the Shona people in Mashonaland as well as the English speakers,” said Ka Nhenga.
He said the fusion of different languages was inspired by South African dramas which take up this concept.
“If we look at South African productions, they fuse all their languages together and come up with great projects at the end of the day. This makes people united as it touches many people of different origins at once. The cast is made up of 101 actors which is inclusive of the extra actors who just feature in the background,” he said.
Zambian actress Katonga Mutale who played Chimwemwe said it was a great experience working in the country.
“My experience was really great even if I wasn’t able to understand some things but the people were so nice. My experience in the film was adventurous because I can’t really say that I can relate to the character but I really feel pity for Chimwemwe. She was so in love that she sacrificed a lot and took dire risks for her boyfriend.
“I got to know about the film three weeks before the shoot and I decided to go for it. So, I travelled from Zambia to Zimbabwe just to take part in the film. I have been an actress and model in Zambia and this was my first time coming to Zimbabwe,” she said.
@SeehYvonne
Online Reporter