Old Video of Mbongeni Ngema Discussing ‘Sarafina’ Resurfaces: “We Didn’t Work in Order to Be Famous”
- Mbongeni Ngema spoke very passionately about Sarafina and the play's impact on South African entertainment
- Veteran music composer and playwright Mbongeni Ngema died on Wednesday evening, 27 December 2023
- In the video that was recently shared, he stated that when they started out in the industry they did not do it for fame
Source: Getty Images
Sarafina remains one of the most impactful films in South Africa. Every year on 16 June, the film plays on TV. One of the film's creators, the late Mbongeni Ngema, spoke so fondly about the play he created and the state of the media back in the day.
Mbongeni Ngema speaks on Sarafina, the play
An old clip of Mbongeni Ngema discussing Sarafina recently went viral after the news of his passing. Veteran music composer and playwright Mbongeni Ngema died on Wednesday evening, 27 December 2023.
An X user @ThisIsColbert unearthed an old interview of Ngema lifting the lid on Sarafina and how it came about.
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He shared that he had spoken with the late Winnie Madikizela Mandela on the state of South Africa back then after realising that it was burning. He then opened auditions for young people to be cast in his play even though he had no title.
He then flew to London to meet up with Hugh Masekela, who played him songs which his record label had denied. One of the songs was titled Sarafina, and the rest was history.
"We did not do it for the fame"- Mbongeni Ngema
In the same video, Ngema also mentioned the deep passion all of the creatives from back in the day had. He shared that a lot of them did not care about the fame, and most continued to work knowing that there was no salary.
"We were not guaranteed a salary, but we just carried on working. We did not work in order to be famous. But we worked for the love of it. A lot of plays today are only there for three weeks, and they are gone. You forget about them. Works like Sarafina and them will live forever, because of the strong and pure content."
Zakes Bantwini slammed for reacting to Mbongeni's death
In a previous report from Briefly News, Zakes Bantwini got slammed for reacting to Mbongeni Ngema's death first before the official announcement.
This would not be the first time the musician did this, as he had done it before when previous stars died.
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Source: Briefly News
