Veteran actor and gospel singer Seputla Sebogodi has been in the acting industry for many decades, giving life to unforgettable characters such as Mohlomi, Sibeko, Keneth Mashaba and Nkwesheng to name a few. While visiting King David’s podcast, the award-winning actor spoke intensively about his industry, including how he would be asked if he can speak Zulu when approached for roles.
Expressing how the whole South African soapie world is centred around Zulu speaking abilities, the actor shared:
“This year I said no to five soapies or drama series, I said no. Because you’re asked, can you speak Zulu?”
The podcaster asked if that was a common question in the industry with Seputla responding, “Hey my brother, if you can’t speak Zulu be prepared to starve.”
Shocked, King David further asked if there were more Zulu productions than other languages?
Seeing the shock on David’s face, the former Generations actor added, “Tell me one soapy that doesn’t have Zulu’s, I’ll give you a million. I’ll give you a million, If I don’t have it, I’ll work for you. On the Pedi soapies they are there, on the Venda and Tsonga’s ones they are also there. There’s not a single one that doesn’t have Zulus.”
Watch Seputla details how the acting industry is centred around Zulu speaking proficiency.
Seputla Sebogodi?
“My brother, if you can’t speak Zulu, be prepared to starve” pic.twitter.com/Bg7bzfRTzv
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) April 8, 2024
A clip of the podcast was shared by news medium MDN News prompting a lot of response from internet users who noted that the Zulu’s make the majority of the South African native speaking popularity, commenting:
IsiZulu is the most used language after English.
So for producers , its good to include isiZulu in order to get a larger view for your production.. pic.twitter.com/RFcLrnJcPG— Aria (@Aria4991) April 8, 2024
Because they have more population! Zulus are almost half the country’s population. If they’re not included they won’t watch and that will result in a show not being successful. They’re also not willing to learn other people’s languages. It’s the power of numbers. However this…
— thabelo (@thabelomaanda) April 8, 2024
One user was not having the majority comments from many users, noting:
Just pure tribalism. Those who are saying its because of numbers are just making excuses for this tribalism. Thats why I don’t watch tv its sickening
— Mokone_Waka_Sorong?? (@Maeza_Mothapo) April 8, 2024
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