Former The Wife actress Zikhona Sodlaka also left a lasting impression on the show’s millions of viewers. She had a difficult exit, and the book’s original script called for her to commit herself.
In the final three episodes of The Showmax original series, viewers could feel Mandisa’s suffering. She had mistakenly shot her own son Ndumiso while grieving the loss of her husband Nqoba Zulu, played by Abdul Khoza.
Mandisa was driven to the brink of insanity by the Zulu Brothers’ seeming animosity toward her.
When Sodlaka exited, she told Zimoja that the ride had been enjoyable.
“I don’t even know where to start, but maybe I should go back to the beginning, to the very beginning of Dudu Busani Dube’s development of the books.
“The Wife was already set up to win because the books are incredible and everybody who fell in love with them from their creation knew that they would love the screen version,” she told the publication.
Zikhona spoke fondly of her former cast members.
”We laughed, cried, brainstormed, fought, and committed. So thank you. Thank you to the cast – Mbalenhle Mavimbela, Khanyi Mbau, and the new additions to this season.”
But what really sticks out is how Mandisa’s character was developed over the course of three seasons in the book, as opposed to the first book where she commits herself. She said to the media that the response Mandisa received from fans encouraged them to keep her character on for a little while longer.
“I accepted the part with the knowledge that this character will pass away in the first season. We were aware of this right away because she also kills herself in the novel. The writers looked into what we could do with her after deciding to keep her, and the results were pure magic!” she exclaims. “However, viewers liked her so much that we had to keep her.
Sodlaka concluded by thanking her fans.
“To the supporters, you guys have always believed in South African stories. The supporters are very clear about what it is that they love and what is true to them. And in this case, The Wife has affirmed even more so to me that South African stories are indeed superior to South Africans. It’s been a privilege. It’s been fun.”
Speaking to Showmax, Zikhona said there are some similarities between her and Mandisa.
She and I are both Xhosa, that’s all. We’re quite dissimilar. It has been wonderful playing with someone so loud because I tend to be quiet and shy in real life. Her utter imperfection is one of my favorite things about her. A somebody like myself, who prefers to hold back, finds everything about her to be very wrong. It doesn’t matter how she appears, how she talks, or what size she is. In Season 1, this was something that really bothered me because I had recently given birth and was unsure of whether I wanted to take on this role. Shouldn’t I hold off until I’m an eight once more? My experience playing her has made me a little bit braver.
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