A new romantic comedy is on its way for the softies just in time for Valentine’s Day.
A Soweto Love Story hits the small screen on 14 February 2024 with a largely stellar cast venturing into the world of light-hearted romantic comedy for the first time. Viewers are in for a fun and flirty treat with this A Naija Christmas adaptation.
Tired of being the only woman in the family as a mother to unlucky-in-love sons, Bongekile (played by Duduzile Ngcobo) challenges her cubs to find their perfect partners before the New Year. Their incentive? The first son to find a makoti will be crowned the sole heir to the coveted family home.
This challenge of romantic ambitions, desires and appeasing the family matriarch sees the brothers, Sandile (played by Lunga Shabalala), Menzi (played by Sparky Xulu) and Sky (played by Ray Neo Buso) embark on a competitive quest to find the perfect partner while navigating very tricky, murky but always hilarious dating waters.
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With leading ladies like Motsoaledi Setumo, Sihle Ndaba, Mamodibe Ramodibe and Didintle Khunou, A Soweto Love Story will be the perfect film to throw on in the background and have you reminiscing about your first love.
Get ready for some feel-good loving as we chat with the cast and get to know a bit more about their characters:
Sandile (played by Lunga Shabalala)
Sandile is the lovable rockstar son who can’t seem to stop getting in the way of himself and his one true love, Motsoaledi’s Sente.
Lunga says, “He is volatile, to say the least, I think he’s all over the place … If there’s one thing you’re going to see about Sandile on the 14th of Feb is he is truthful to his true love. His actions may not be the best form of showing it but he’s definitely truthful to his true love and I think a lot of young men will be able to relate to Sandile in the regard of that you may have the best intentions but your actions just seem to get in the way and sometimes don’t get in the way of yourself. Just kind of take a moment to have some introspection and just see how your love is being received.”
Menzi (played by Sparky Xulu)
Menzi is the more straightforward and rigid brother who doesn’t see the love from Mamodibe’s Dina until it’s right in front of him.
“What I love the most about Menzi is how he’s able to adjust and to change given different circumstances … the thing of letting go and allowing change to happen because he’s very rigid and very much like, okay everything needs to happen in a particular way. But as he goes through certain things in his life, he starts to let go of certain things and those produce really really beautiful outcomes for him.”
Sky (played by Ray Neo Buso)
Sky’s character has an interesting and unexpected arc to it that shows that loves comes in unexpected ways.
“There are nuances in the character that I had to insert so that people don’t just have assumptions about him. It was a beautiful thing because I think as actors, we tend to get typecasted and in this role I felt like for a change I’m not being typecasted and I was like oh yes thank you, I’m ready for the challenge.”
Bongekile (played by Duduzile Ngcobo)
Duduzile plays the headstrong and overzealous mother of three sons, Sandile, Menzi and Sky. She’s got her mind set on making sure her wayward sons find love, by whatever means necessary.
“What I mostly like about my character is it’s not too far from Duduzile in terms of the love. The love of a mother to her children, a love of a mother to her husband – even if he is late – still wanting to honour their dreams … and the love of her community, hence uMam’ [Bongekile] is hands on entweni zasesontweni ezikhuluma umphakathi.”
Lunga (played by Skhumba Hlophe)
In Skhumba’s first onscreen acting role, he plays the fun-loving and hilarious Lunga who adds that much-loved comedic element to this light film.
He says, “I had to channel a lot of people that I’ve watched growing up especially because I’m acting as somebody who … needs to repossess something so who am I channelling in my head. The first person was uLaqasha from S’gudi Snaysi who was friends with Joe Mafela, uS’dumo. But at the same time he has to do what he has to do, ijob ijob. So, I had to go into that and bring my own flavour into that at the same time because it’s always great when people se you on screen, they don’t lose you. They don’t lose Skhumba in this thing.”
Penny (played by Sihle Ndaba)
Penny’s determined and focused nature clashes with the outgoing and outlandish characters in the film but, like everyone else, she deserves love too.
Sihle says, “I really love Penny because she brings out the organised part of me that I am working on – hopefully 2024 will be the year! She is so organised so if you’re looking for some tips on how to organise your life, Penny’s your girl.”
Sente (played by Motsoaledi Setumo)
Sente’s no-nonsense and driven attitude is exactly the type of energy that is needed when in the market for love, and Sandile learns this the hard way.
“With me tapping into [Sente] … it’s just how light she was, how she always knows what she wants. She’s career-driven and if you’re not giving me what I want, I’m out the door. So, I really loved that about her so much.
“I had to go watch rom coms because it has that comedy in it, it has that lightness to it even though it’s serious – you’re telling something serious – but in a very subtle and fun way so I had to watch a lot of rom coms for me to get into it to see okay, this is how it’s done.”
Dina (played by Mamodibe Ramodibe)
Dina is cool, calm, collected and not to mention talented young chef who not only loves her job but also has a soft spot for Menzi.
“The fact that [Dina] is a rebel, she’s counterculture. The bane of her existence is to just defy societal norms, that’s how she moves and I resonate a lot with that. I think a huge part of me thinks like that. I was always the opinionated, I’m going to say something back about something but just because that’s how complex human beings function.”
Kelz (played by Didintle Khunou)
Didintle takes on the role of the pop singer Kelz who leaves viewers wondering if she might have a thing for Sandile but in true film fashion, the last act’s plot twist makes her arc take an unexpected turn.
“I just wanted to tap into her creative energy, what an artist is like when they are creating in a space where Sandile, played by Lunga Shabalala, is having a creative block and how artists help each other fall in love with their craft. So, ja, for me the process was about tapping into creative energy and just speaking back into the theme of falling in love with your craft and that being a form of love.”
