Hungani Ndlovu on playing T'bose on 'Skeem Saam' & social media backlash

Hungani Ndlovu has sunk his teeth into a new role that has undoubtedly shaken the table for some Skeem Saam viewers and split the audiences whom on a weekday have a field day picking the new T'bose apart. 

In June, Hungani was announced as the new Thabo “T'Bose” Maputla on Skeem Saam.

Some have grown to love the new “snobbish” T'bose, and for Hungani this was all a beautiful process for him. 

“The beautiful thing about this was that the production basically wanted a new character, still within the walls of T'bose, Kwaito, Kat in the sense that they were not necessarily focused on the T'bose we knew from the story. He had gone abroad and the whole notion was that he has experienced a culture shock or a different way of living and a life experience that he was never exposed to, which has in a way changed him and who he is.”

Hungani replaced Cornet Mamabolo who left the show in 2021 to focus on his business endeavours. T'bose played by Hungani made his comeback after leaving for a job opportunity overseas.

“I didn't have to focus on the T'bose that was there before, but rather just focus on what can I bring that would be different. So as much as my homework was to look at some of the previous performances, nuances and how he relates to other characters, from that then my task was how do I create something different, something that people will receive in a different way as well, not necessarily trying to fit in the mould of what people knew.

“Like he was going speak Sepedi 100% of the time — it's not 99% of the time. What would it do to his parents, his family, to the people about him, if he didn't speak Sepedi 100% of the time? How would they engage differently?

“But it was a beautiful experience for me. I knew whatever I'm bringing, people would have to choose if they like or if they don't. There's no in-between, it's either you like the offering or you don't. That for me is a beautiful place to be, for an audience perspective as well as an actor's perspective.”

Hungani said though his character is under social media scrutiny from time to time, he loves engaging. He finds it hilarious and supportive because audiences have realised the character has changed. 

He has also taken it upon himself to take stock of the work he has delivered on the show. “Because I've been in the industry for a while, I've gained enough experience to know that people will always have something to say. So regardless of what people are saying, do I feel like I did my best, or do I know that I could've done better? Or did I not do everything that I wanted to do, based on myself and what I've offered and what people are seeing?

“ Do I feel like I've done my best? Yes. So the rest really is nothing that I can control, unless if I were to allow it to affect me. It would just bring me more harm than good, in the sense that if I felt like I did my best and someone is not enjoying it, I can't change that.”