Khumbanyiwa dreams on

Genre : Society news
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Release/publication date : September 2015
Published on : 09/04/2015
Source : http://mwnation.com/khumbanyiwa-dreams-on/ 7 April 2015

Every child comes into the world full of promise and none more so than Chappie. He is gifted, special, a prodigy.

Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings-some good, some bad-and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man.
But there is one thing that makes Chappie different from anyone else-he is a robot. The first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. He is raised by two parents-one good, and one bad
His life, his story, may change the way the world looks at robots and humans forever.
Chappie is quickly pulled into the seedy, crime-ridden underworld of Johannesburg in South Africa.
From here, the robot is caught between powerful forces-and when those forces face off; an entire city hangs in the balance.
He is later kidnapped by gangsters and is used to their benefit. Those gangsters-Ninja and Yolandi-buy weapons from the 'King' where Chappie is taken to.
In the underworld, King is played by South Africa-based, but Malawi-born Eugene Khumbanyiwa, the television, film and voice actor.
The star is popularly known for playing the role of Obesandjo, a paralysed psychopathic Nigerian in the 2009 Oscar-nominated sci-fi hit District 9.
"King is the underworld kingpin. He runs the city. A drug lord of Johannesburg! He occupies the highest floors of the famous Ponte Tower, Jo'burg's most notorious building, known for rampant crime and crumbling walls, towering over Hillbrow neighbourhood, with views over all of Johannesburg and its surroundings. Whatever you are looking for in Johannesburg, he will get it for you. King is also a weapons dealer," said Khumbanyiwa in an interview.
The role of King in Chappie is not taxing as he is the mafia boss.
"King is the boss, he just sits, they come to him; he does not go to them. He has boys in the streets that do what he wants-the dirty work.
"I was not on set for long. King's character is a very powerful role, but with a very short screen time. I am not featuring in Chappie; I am just making an appearance as an actor together with South African actor, Brandon Auret. However, I was involved so much in the publicity of the movie, especially the pre-release media interviews. We were doing it for Sony Movies South Africa," he said.
The movie has since been screened in the US and South Africa where it was shot.
The response, Khumbanyiwa says, is overwhelming.
He said: "Chappie was received very well and it managed to dominate and opened at number one at the US Box Office. Even in South Africa, the response has been great, but not to the level of District 9, which was also written and directed by the same director, Neill Blomkamp."
"We are not of mediocre ability as Malawians. Right now, I am so inspired by South African-born comedian Trevor Noah's global success. What a dreamer! That is something we ought to look up to and emulate as African dreamers. Global stage and global success is what we should hunger for as artists. I hunger to join him as Africa's export on that level, but as an actor, of course. Someone Africa can be proud of and the African youth can be inspired by."
Moving on to his new role at Muvhango, a popular Venda language South African TV series, Khumbayiwa is excited.
"It was one of those opportunities that came knocking at the door. Muvhango was looking for a professional actor who can speak Swahili, for their Tanzania-Swahili speaking storyline. I was in Nairobi, Kenya, for over four years during my youth in the 1990s studying computer science. That is where I learned the language. So, when this opportunity came, and at a time when I am already a professional actor, I grabbed it with both hands," he said.
Khumbanyiwa is playing a character called Kanu, in which he is a son of a character called Bhekikhaya, an anti-apartheid activist played by a South African legendary radio DJ and actor Treasure Tshabalala Nkosi, who left South Africa 50 years ago for exile in Tanzania.
"I am his only son. Bhekikhaya is a brother to Mankosi played by Cythia Shange and Malume Themba, real name Magic Hlatshwayo, and an uncle to the leading Muvhango actress Thandaza played by Sindi Dlathu, which makes her my cousin.
"For years, they thought he was dead in exile, but Thandaza hired a private investigator who managed to trace him to Tanzania. They came to Tanzania, found us living in abject poverty, and brought us to South Africa as a family. I cannot tell you what will happen next because the episodes are still airing," he explained.
Though not full time, Khumbanyiwa is happy with his role in Muvhango.
Said the actor: "I am not full time in Muvhango, it is just that my character being a cousin of the leading actress has the potential to be popping up every now and then as per the writers/producers' call.
"The good thing about characters like those not on full time is that you are able to do other projects like film, as long as there is no conflict in shooting schedules, meaning you must inform them on time if ever you will be busy or not available for a specific period. My character is already done with Muvhango for now. Unless something comes up, you can never know."
He said appearing on one of the biggest South African soapies is a dream come true for him apart from making it to Hollywood.
So far, he says, the journey has been smooth.
"There are no major challenges at all. It is just that soapies mostly are shot in studios [indoors] while movies are shot on locations. And the advantage of location shooting is that the atmosphere is more real, which helps to psych the actors up and ultimately helps in giving subtle real life-like performances with all the nuances of the portrayed character.
"In soapies, you are always told to project everything as bigger than life, including your voice, which makes you feel like you are overacting, but that is exactly what works for soapies. If you are a soapie actor, when shooting a movie, they will say you are overacting while if you are a movie actor when shooting a soapie, they will tell you to project.
"So, as an actor, you must know the difference between the two mediums and be able to seamlessly translate," said the artist who remains thankful for all the support Malawians have been giving him.
Born at Cobbe Barracks Hospital in Zomba, Khumbanyiwa also stars in the Hollywood race thriller Death Race 3 as Nero.
Last year, he visited his father Major Stewart Khumbanyiwa (now retired) and his mother Victoria, a retired teacher in Chirimba, Blantyre.
He moved from Malawi to South Africa in the early 2000s and worked as an information technology specialist before pursuing his childhood dream of becoming a professional actor.
He started his acting career as an extra in the 2004 Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo, playing one of the hotel employees.
After that, he worked sporadically, appearing in TV commercials and prime-time soaps such as Generations and Scandal.
He also had a role in South African independently produced hit film, Jerusalema, before landing a role as an underground war-lord in District 9.
Khumbanyiwa also does voices for both TV and radio.
His voice work credits include the prestigious African Cup of Nations 2013 soccer tournament's 'hello' radio ads campaign for the City of Johannesburg.
With his dreams for bigger and better roles, brace for more surprises from Khumbanyiwa.

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