WeeklySA_AdminPASSION: Whether on stage, film or TV, the veteran actress keeps it professional, because “it’s something I love very much”…
By Gugu Sibiya
Leleti Khumalo was a teenager when she was first unleashed upon the country’s stages through a protest theatrical production Sarafina.
Spellbound audiences were still coming to grips with the tornado that had just hit their stages when the play went overseas. On it’s triumphant return, it was adapted into a film. It’s this heritage movie that etv will be showing on Thursday, June 16, to coincide with the historical comemoration of the 46th anniversary of June 16 1976 uprisings.
The children of Soweto fed up with being force-fed Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, rose against the might of the apartheid regime. Armed with dustbin lids and stones as protection, hundreds of school children were mowed down by soldiers, killing and maiming them.
Sarafina touch on this painful history of Black South Africans, expressing and keeping the message of hope alive that freedom will come. It was 1992 and the prophesy came true two-years later in 1994. Mbongeni Ngema is the legend that pulled it all together with his stage and film productions.
“When I played Sarafina onstage and I the film, I never thought it was going to be this massive or impact my life in this profound manner. Sarafina introduced me to South Africans and the world. After much success here at home, we spent two years on Broadway in the USA, and another two years on tour across America before coming back home, exhausted”.
“I was barely rested when I was asked to audition for Sarafina the flick. Although people were surprised since I was already the lead on stage, my director encouraged me to do it. He said he had faith in me but that I had to prove that I could do it. I did, and got the role,” she recalls.
Sarafina strutted the cream-of-the-crop entertainers such as the late Miriam Makeba, Whoopi Goldberg and Dr John Kani, Leleti felt intimidated on the first day of the shoot. “I was so petrified I just froze. I couldn’t utter a word, we postponed. Miriam and Whoopi understood, they took me under their wing, holding my hand through that exciting but nerve-wrecking time.
“It’s been 30 years since we shot the epic movie but it’s as popular as if it’s just been released. It’s put South Africa on the map. In fact, Sarafina has paved the way for many other productions that have gone overseas. It’s even launched international careers for those who’ve used the exposure and opportunity wisely,” she says with pride in her voice.
“Sarafina made me! Mbongeni Ngema, the genius behind the brand Sarafina, made me! We made history! It’s unforgettable as the frenzy around it demonstrates. You can’t celebrate June 16 without thinking of the movie. Even my nine-year old twins are crazy about it since their father played them the movie.
“Even now they are rehearsing for the play at school and asked me to teach them so that they can have the edge over their mates. Last year, we ran a challenge on etv, and we were flooded. In the frenzy of it all, I caught covid-19,” she recalls in awe.
“After Sarafina, I got a meaty but emotive role in the film Forgiveness. Its storyline revolved around HIV/Aids. It was too sad for me, I cried buckets of tears. Then there was Invictus, Free State and Cry,The Beloved Country.
“Ticking another box, I gravitated towards the small screen. I could have stayed in theatre, but being here at home it doesn’t pay the bills. My first port of call was Generations, followed by Uzalo and now Mbewu. I love that Mbewu is about us, our culture and the purity of language is explored through its rich idiom.
“I work with people I love and respect, not to mention the youth who complete us. Mentoring young people is essential,” says the actress who’s also wearing a producer’s hat. She says working with Anant Singh and Duma Ndlovu has been a blessing and a wealth of wisdom imparted to her.
On the critics and skeptics who dismissed her as a fluke that would never make it, she smiles with serenity. “I’m not upset at them. They liked me on Sarafina and couldn’t imagine me doing anything else. Versatility, growth and exploring other mediums is not a bad idea. Whether on stage, film or TV, it’s about acting, something I love very much”.
“Sarafina was shot at the right time, with the right people. You’d think with the legends we had there, there’d be drama or egos, there were none. There was patience, compassion, desire to impart knowledge and we had a great time. Miriam had this way of mothering you, making you feel safe. Whoopi is the sane one but ensures that you get respect and everything that’s due to you. President Rolihlahla Mandela had a knack for making you feel like you’ve known each other for a long time. In all these people, I had the best teachers.
“I’m ready to swop my acting hat for that of producer in the future, as well as producing new stories. Mentoring KZN kids of is top of the agenda. Opening a school where I’ll impart knowledge to them is an ever-present dream,” she states wistfully.
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