Will ‘Zuba’ shine?

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 08:54:17 +0000

By Terence Miselo

 This month Zambia witnessed the launch of what is being referred to  as the first Zambian telenovela dubbed “Zuba”.

This local television series which  launched on Zambezi Magic Channel 160 has attracted a lot of attention and reactions adding to one of the most trending stories on social media.

Produced by Jam Productions and directed by two young and inspiring filmmakers Jessie Chisi and Becky Ngoma, “Zuba” portrays a story of a young Zambian troubled Tonga lass (Mwaka Mugala) who faces a number of battles from her stepmother as she pushes through survival.

As a telenovela, Zuba prominently brings out a number of issues typical to a Zambian lifestyle and society both in urban and rural life.

It features quite a good number of prominent and renowned actors and actresses including pioneers like Henry BJ Phiri, Sakafunya Chanika, Anne Katamanda, Makuza Mazzuki and Phenny Walubita famously known as Dyness from Zambia’s first soap Kabanana.

Despite the great effort put into the production which is evidenced in the picture quality, good sound and interesting storyline, Zuba has already received criticism and calls to have it improved from different angles.

Zambian musician Petersen Mukubesa a.k.a Zagaze, like many who have voiced out, has a problem with the manner in which the cast is having difficulties with the local language ‘Tonga’ which Zuba seems to be centred on besides English and Nyanja.

“The biggest problem or mess up with the Zuba telenovela is the idea of disrespecting language and have people act roles that need them to speak a native language,” stated Petersen on one of his posts on Facebook.

His sentiments are echoed by another follower who said,

“These actresses are speaking fake Tonga. The accent is something else. Why not employ actresses who can speak real Tonga and pronounce words the way they are? “

Another follower had an issue with what he termed ‘ the exaggerated village set up and approach’.

“Quite impressive and kudos there( sound and picture quality) but we need to give a realistic impression of villagers by using the right make up and costumes. The stroyline and script are also sound.”

However,  Jessie Chisi emphasized that as a telenovela, Zuba is supposed to be exaggerated.

And on the contrary, many believe ‘Zuba’ has raised the bar in film industry and its producers must be commended for the job well done. It is just a few episodes done so far and the big question is; will Zuba shine?