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With Sunday, June 18, 2023 rapidly approaching. The official promotional run for the much-anticipated remake of the 1986 classic tale of the life and times of Zulu warrior and ruler, Shaka Zulu.
The series has been promoted for a long time, beginning in December 2022. For the most part, Nomzamo Mbatha, who will play Queen Nandi in the film, has been at the forefront of promoting the collaboration with Bomb Production.
As a result, it appears that it was only lately that acclaimed young actor Lemogang Tsipa, who is Motswana of tribal descent, was cast as the adult version of the most productive Zulu monarch.
Is a Shaka Zulu who speaks SeSotho a problem?
Lemogang Tsipa has made waves in the three years and counting since he broke into the mainstream of the film and television industry locally. This is as he was first reported by the publication:
“The young actor has impressed a lot of people since appearing on iSthembiso and some women have taken a great liking to Lemogang as well.
If there’s one thing people have come to appreciate about Lemogang is his passion for acting and how seriously he takes his craft.
In 2017, he appeared in the local film Beyond The River, which earned rave reviews.”
However, it appears that anticipation for the premiere episode of the Shaka Zulu retelling has been aroused. One social media user pointed out on the timeline that Lemogang was of Motswana tribal ancestry rather than Zulu.
So a Sotho guy is gon play Shaka 😂 pic.twitter.com/zSbr74VwnO
— UncleKeyz (@mnm_meya) May 26, 2023
The post made it seem like it was a dig to have a SeSotho mother-tongue actor play the legendary Zulu King. However, in the comments and replies on the post, it seems that South Africans came to the defense of the actor.
Terrance Howard
Lawrence fishbourne
Danny glover
Iyooh, the list goes on, but because we kiss western ass, it's ohk and we cheered. 😐🚮— Bobby Roosevelt® (@Blaq_Hawk1) May 26, 2023
So
— UncleKeyz (@mnm_meya) May 27, 2023
More so as it came to light that the social media user who brought up the matter was actually from Zimbabwe. As such, it seems for the most part, South Africans were making it clear that tribalism in the country is not as rife as the narrative has been continually perpetuated.
Jokes aside, from the outside of the club, I don't think there's an issue with people of different ethnicities playing a character of a certain ethnicity, but I think as one of the main cultural figures of Zulu people, Shaka should've been played by a Zulu person. Ek beklei nie
— From the 🏞️ to the 🌅…🇨🇩🇵🇸 (@Elle_D_Ablo) May 27, 2023
Furthermore, it was stated that for the majority of South Africans, original Shaka Zulu lead actor Henry Cele will always be the pinnacle of the Zulu king. As a result, everyone person who takes on the part is just striving to achieve the same iconography status that Cele achieved while portraying the character.
The original Shaka Zulu. He set the bar so high. Any1 trying to replace him will just look ridiculous. There are even statues of Shaka erected using Henry Cele's face pic.twitter.com/O69Oo3cwbn
— Thato Mzansi (@thatorula) May 28, 2023