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eHostela
Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161)
Sunday, 8pm
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Ever heard of izinkabi – Zulu hitmen? It’s a real way of life and not one that is spoken about openly. But that is what the creators of eHostela have done. They’ve set their show in a hostel and those who are familiar with this way of life know that hostels are governed by entirely different laws, with leaders or izinduna who oversee it all.
These places are usually a hotbed for crime and it’s about time we return to the hostel as material for TV entertainment.
Ehostela is nothing like what we’ve seen on shows such as the classic Emzini Wezinsizwa, which was comical. This is real.
The first thing we are confronted with, as the opening scene to one of the strongest pilots for a local show I’ve ever seen, is a dramatic shoot-out at a petrol station. Two hitmen – also brothers – roll up, find their target and lick shots off. The one guy, Vovo, tickles the trigger of an AK-47, while the other guy totes a hand pistol and the pair wipes out an entire family.
Slow motion is incorporated in this scene amazingly; seeing this in local drama is fresh. Zulu is spoken throughout – that pure Zulu from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where most of what is said sounds angry. I joke, the script is actually quite poetic and the cast deliver their lines as such.
KZN is becoming a stronghold for the creation of gripping local drama and it is no surprise that Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube is an executive producer.
This drama is driven by intriguing artistic shots. Police officers tape off the scene at the petrol station and attempt to figure out whether or not this was an attempted hijacking or a hit. A feisty Xhosa female detective arrives on the scene and Captain Nkomo, an elderly gentleman, is not impressed with the young woman’s investigative acumen or her dress code. A definite theme in this show is how women are treated and what Zulu men expect and impose on them, which we need to address desperately.
In the first episode alone, they chillingly explain the secret laws of izinkabi, how the elders decide on a hit and how the young guns carry out their will.
Soulful maskandi plays in between scenes, with footage that has been edited by a highly proficient individual.
This show is stunning.
