Life on Set: Behind the Scenes with Samke

Following on from our first interview with MTV Shuga: Down South star Samke Makhoba, we sat down with the budding actress to find out what life is like on set, and what the future holds for Mzani’s rising star...

MTV Shuga: There are A LOT of new faces in the upcoming season. What was it like working with some local stars and some MTV Shuga veterans such as Emmanuel Ikubese (‘Femi’) and Nick Mutuma (‘Leo’)?

We called Emmanuel and Nick the ancestors of MTV Shuga. Those two were crazy fun. They have an amazing brotherly bond and they treated us like family. In fact, we all treated each other like family. What amazed and inspired me about them is their knowledge on all of the issues that MTV Shuga tackles. They have such a great, passionate and deep understanding of what MTV Shuga stands for that you could actually see their passion emit out of their amazing performances on set.

Working with the local stars was surreal. From watching them on television to seeing them almost every day and building great friendships has been an absolute blessing. Some of our cast were new to the industry and being new myself they made me feel so comfortable and welcomed, as though we had been working together for years.

MTV Shuga: What was it like filming the new series of MTV Shuga: Down South?

Filming MTV Shuga was absolutely surreal. It has been the biggest learning experience ever. I watched our directors work and I gained so much inspiration from all 3 of them. I watched the crew work and realised that they put in over 100% to give real quality television. The time and research that was put into the production will surely result in the best MTV Shuga yet. I watched the cast perform and wanted to pass out because they were such a marvel to watch. The actors worked as a serious team and were so determined to give their best, real and believable performances.

MTV Shuga: What are some of the biggest challenges you faced on set?

The biggest challenge that I faced on set was trying to understand my character. ‘Khensani’ is 15 and I am 28; the last time I was 15 was just over 100 years ago. Adjusting back to teen life as an almost 30 year old was hilarious and tough.

MTV Shuga: Now that you are in the public eye, how do you plan on using your voice to highlight significant challenges faced by women, such as the ones faced by your character ‘Khensani’?

I firstly hope ‘Khensani’ will have a great impact on young girls, women, boys and men. I hope she makes people conscious of the social issues that women go through and that her story opens dialogue in all communities and destroys all stigma related to female and teenage issues. I hope to be a part of these talks; physically or through social networks, sharing all that I have learnt about these social issues that have played out in ‘Khensani’s’ life. I am still learning and hope to learn much more from others who have similar stories to share.

Playing ‘Khensani’ has not been easy; trying to get into her head and doing a bit of research on her issues has helped me get an understanding of her, and in doing so I got a better understanding of the struggles that real women and girls go through. With this connection and consciousness that I have developed, I also hope to create films just like MTV Shuga that will make audiences as conscious as I have become.

MTV Shuga: As a woman, do you think it is harder to make it in the acting industry than it is for a man? What are some of the unique challenges facing women trying to make it in the industry, and how do you deal with them?

I do not think that it is as hard as it used to be to get into the acting industry as a woman, even though patriarchy still plays a huge dominating role in the industry as a whole. Specifically, regarding the acting industry, women have been fortunate enough to have more stories written for them. Even so, I feel that women still do not have enough stories written about them.

Leading roles are often given to males and I feel that the way to tackle these issues would be by introducing more female script writers; having more females work behind the scenes creating stories about women, by women. Women still have to work harder than men in order to get what they want.

As a Wits film student, my class, which mainly consists of women, is building an empire of amazing filmmakers who will tell great stories about women. #MTVShugaDS has a leading cast with a number of leading female actresses telling stories about women. The fact that the amazing Mohau Cele (‘Bongi’) is our number one leading performer makes #MTVShugaDS an even more respectable production, and not to mention our amazing female director Mmabatho Montsho who has become such an inspiration to me.

MTV Shuga: What actresses do you admire or aspire to be like?

I completely admire Maggie Benedict and Vatiswa Ndara. They are such believable, realistic and natural actresses. I remember times where I would watch them on TV and start imitating them. From watching Maggie I learnt to be more expressive using my body; she gestures so naturally. Vatiswa delivers so much spice and zest into her performances that you would wonder if she is actually like her character in real life or not.

MTV Shuga: Where do you see yourself in the next two years?

In the next two years I would love to be directing and acting in more films, telling real African stories, sharing real worldly social issues which will cause awareness and change in people’s lives. I am also currently in a small team of female filmmakers, and I hope that we will be taking the world by storm through our work.

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