Zulu king Misizulu Zulu gave his blessing to the production of series Shaka Ilembe.
Image via Twitter
@ZiyandaNgcobo
Nomzamo Mbatha’s ‘Shaka Ilembe’ series gets Zulu King’s blessing
The historic series Shaka Ilembe has been given the royal seal of approval by King Misizulu Zulu amid its film production…
Zulu king Misizulu Zulu gave his blessing to the production of series Shaka Ilembe.
Image via Twitter
@ZiyandaNgcobo
Shaka Ilembe, the highly-anticipated series about Shaka Zulu produced by Nomzamo Mbatha, has received the blessing from royalty itself- King Misizulu Zulu.
The current reigning king of the Zulu nation has given his approval to the historical drama.
Shaka Ilembe officially began filming last month in both Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal
SHAKA ILEMBE GETS ROYAL GREENLIGHT
The series Shaka Ilembe is set in the 1700s and tells the tale of the iconic Zulu king Shaka Zulu who ruled the empire from ruled the Zulu empire from 1816 until he died in 1828. The movie is set for release in 2023.
And the current Zulu king is just as excited for its release as other South Africans. Sharing pictures on Instagram of himself on set this week, he posted: “Everything is ok”.
In one pic, the Zulu king is seen with actor Ntando Zondi who takes on the role of a young Shaka Zulu.
Misizulu Zulu’s great great great grandfather King Mpande is was the half-brother of Shaka Zulu.
Misizulu’s late father Goodwill Zwelethini, also gave his blessing to the historical drama commissioned by Multichoice.
According to News24, Shaka Ilembe took six years of pre-production with extensive research done by historians, academics, and family descendants, including that of the late king and fellow Zulu royal Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
WHO ARE THE CAST?
The cast of Shaka Ilembe features both newcomers and veteran actors in lead roles. They include;
- Lemogang Tsipa as adult Shaka Zulu
- Ntando Zondi as a young Shaka Zulu
- Nomzamo Mbatha as Nandi, the mother of Shaka,
- Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingiswayo
- Wiseman Mncube as King Zwide.
Nomzamo Mbatha told Variety of her Shaka Ilembe starring role and executive production: “I am honoured to bring the giant that is Queen Nandi to life.
“History will remember those who informed its people of where we come from, to better understand who we are. I am fortunate to be part of a project that is much bigger than ourselves and to tell this story in our own language!”
