They did it last year with Matatiele and this year e.tv unveils uKhaKhayi next month.
The channel's investment in rural dramas has yielded great results with good viewership ratings, creating new stars and winning critical acclaim.
Matatiele was watched on average by 1.2million viewers (growing the Tuesday 9pm slot remarkably). The drama directed by revered Rolie Nikiwe goes to next weekend's SA Film and TV Awards with four nominations, including best drama and best director.
uKhaKhayi which is shot on location in Kwangcolosi, KwaZulu-Natal is meant to emulate this success and build on the gains of Matatiele. With a storyline of Shakespearean proportions, uKhaKhayi tells the story of Jezebomvu - played by Mncedisi Shabangu - the ruthless and cunning paramount chief of the Bhaca tribe. He is out for revenge for what he feels was a past injustice that denied him the throne. Now he wants to have the crown passed on to his son so that he can become the power behind the throne.
To achieve this, he works on eliminating the two heirs apparent - the sons of his older brother. With just a step from clinching the crown, a spanner is thrown in the works when a long-lost family member returns.
Noxee Maqashalala plays Nopasika, the wife of Jezebomvu. She is a municipal manager and a haughty woman who looks down on those beneath her. She's a partner in crime to her unscrupulous husband.
Given her position in the municipality, she has great influence in the local tendering system and enjoys kickbacks.
For Maqashalala, this show is a celebration of the forgotten kingdom of the Bhaca.
"I'm a Bhaca, so this is personal to me. It's very close to me. The director, Zuko Nodada, is also Bhaca and we come from the same place.
"Our villages are close by and we are proud to be telling the story of our people and the beautiful culture and language that is going extinct," she says.
Maqashalala is proud that TV viewers will get to sample the Bhaca language, which today is regarded as a dialect of Xhosa.
Bhaca, however, sounds like Swati, owing to Bhacas originating in Phongolo, near Swaziland.
"It's been amazing and it's fun as I discover her [Nopasika]. She's got the hair, the car, the clothes and a powerful husband and is also very power hungry."
Maqashalala's past credits include Tsha Tsha and Intersexions.
"I love acting and storytelling. I've also ventured into other things like scriptwriting, directing and producing."
luKhaKhayi starts on e.tv on Tuesday April 5 at 9.05pm
mofokengl@sowetan.co.za
New rural drama seeks to revive the Bhaca language
They did it last year with Matatiele and this year e.tv unveils uKhaKhayi next month.
The channel's investment in rural dramas has yielded great results with good viewership ratings, creating new stars and winning critical acclaim.
Matatiele was watched on average by 1.2million viewers (growing the Tuesday 9pm slot remarkably). The drama directed by revered Rolie Nikiwe goes to next weekend's SA Film and TV Awards with four nominations, including best drama and best director.
uKhaKhayi which is shot on location in Kwangcolosi, KwaZulu-Natal is meant to emulate this success and build on the gains of Matatiele. With a storyline of Shakespearean proportions, uKhaKhayi tells the story of Jezebomvu - played by Mncedisi Shabangu - the ruthless and cunning paramount chief of the Bhaca tribe. He is out for revenge for what he feels was a past injustice that denied him the throne. Now he wants to have the crown passed on to his son so that he can become the power behind the throne.
To achieve this, he works on eliminating the two heirs apparent - the sons of his older brother. With just a step from clinching the crown, a spanner is thrown in the works when a long-lost family member returns.
Noxee Maqashalala plays Nopasika, the wife of Jezebomvu. She is a municipal manager and a haughty woman who looks down on those beneath her. She's a partner in crime to her unscrupulous husband.
Given her position in the municipality, she has great influence in the local tendering system and enjoys kickbacks.
For Maqashalala, this show is a celebration of the forgotten kingdom of the Bhaca.
"I'm a Bhaca, so this is personal to me. It's very close to me. The director, Zuko Nodada, is also Bhaca and we come from the same place.
"Our villages are close by and we are proud to be telling the story of our people and the beautiful culture and language that is going extinct," she says.
Maqashalala is proud that TV viewers will get to sample the Bhaca language, which today is regarded as a dialect of Xhosa.
Bhaca, however, sounds like Swati, owing to Bhacas originating in Phongolo, near Swaziland.
"It's been amazing and it's fun as I discover her [Nopasika]. She's got the hair, the car, the clothes and a powerful husband and is also very power hungry."
Maqashalala's past credits include Tsha Tsha and Intersexions.
"I love acting and storytelling. I've also ventured into other things like scriptwriting, directing and producing."
luKhaKhayi starts on e.tv on Tuesday April 5 at 9.05pm
mofokengl@sowetan.co.za
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