happiness Chikwanha
Johannesburg. — Sonia Mbele sinks her teeth into the challenging and complex role of Mmamosa in “Keeping Score”, the new SABC2 telenovela starting on Monday. Mbele, who became a household name with the role of Ntombi on “Generations”, leads the cast of the show, a first of the genre for the channel.
“I’m enjoying myself. It’s fun. I enjoy acting. I would act for free, just don’t tell anybody, just now they will hold it against me.”
Mbele says Mmamosa has all the ingredients to stretch and challenge an actor, a dream role of sorts really.
“She is cunning, conniving, calculative, fearless, ruthless and plans and plots. She will use anybody to get her way, even her sons. She is an angry black woman.”
But what drives Mmamosa is revenge on a man who was a sports hero in their youth, Justice Mohapi. He left her pregnant 25 years ago after a two-week fling and she had to raise her child Tladi, portrayed by Solomon Sebothoma, alone.
The man in question is played by Lehlohonolo Saint Seseli, who has featured in numerous local productions from dramas to soapies.
Mmamosa makes her son, Lehasa, played by newcomer Siya Sepotokele, quit varsity so he can work for the African Sports Academy owned by Justice.
She uses Tladi to attend the academy and train there as a boxer.
“She is a little bit scary. She is unpredictable and you can’t cross her. She will stop at nothing to get her revenge and she is blinded by it.
Ultimately, it landed her in a mental hospital to show that she is not in control.
“I think the deeper lesson here is that you have to learn to let go and not hold on to certain people or the past. We need to learn to move on. If you hold on to the past for too long, it may destroy you, not only emotionally, but physically, and otherwise.”
The cast and crew has been hard at work in their studio in Bez Valley, Joburg, and locations across the city since July, putting in 12-hour shifts, six days a week for the marathon 160 episodes.
The language quota is 90 percent Sotho, Mbele says, adding that she struggled a bit in the beginning and had to translate and acclimatise her tongue to sound believable. — SOWETAN.
Online Reporter