Bomb Productions to bring historical drama, Shaka Ilembe

DStv unleashed new and gripping content coming soon to keep us glued to their screens. These include Shaka Ilembe, produced by Bomb Productions and is set to drop in 2021.

Bomb Productions, together with MultiChoice Group’s Mzansi Magic, announced two years ago that they would be embarking on bringing us a story of King Shaka. Bomb Productions Executive Producer and Co-creator Teboho Mahlatsi confirmed that they already at pre-production stages of the project. He mentioned that this is not a remake of Shaka Zulu but rather new angle to this epic story with great admiration, landscapes, great music & telling the story from the inside. The series will be in Zulu and will paint a picture of different Nguni worlds.

“We want to tell an authentic Zulu story in Zulu”, Teboho Mahlatsi says, “This is completely an African story”

This is said to be legacy project about a legendary African empire, spanning generations of several Nguni political societies – the great kingdoms of the AmaThethwa, the AmaNdwandwe, AmaQwabe, AmaHlubi and AmaZulu, amongst others on an epic canvas, on which we will see the men and women who shaped, opposed and supported the rise of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona.

The production that brought us classics like Yizo Yizo, Zone 14, Ayeye and Isithembiso is tasked with such a huge responsibility and with two years of research this will be so interesting to see what they bring us. They have spoke with King Zwelithini, the families and historians to ensure delivery of this authentic story of this world. They haven’t announced yet who will be playing Shaka however they are looking to unearth new talent who will perform alongside our great experienced actors. There will be poets, stick fighters, traditional dancers and praise singers. 

“I have to clarify that we are not making a historical documentary. We are making a show for a mass audience.” Teboho Mahlatsi said

The series will tell the story of the powers that influenced and shaped Shaka – the drama unfolding from the time of his conception, his unmatched bravery as a young man, the early attempts on his life – and the subsequent years of exile with his mother. We will meet the great chiefdoms of the AmaThethwa, the AmaNdwandwe, AmaQwabe, AmaHlubi and more. And out of this epic canvas, we will see the heroic rise of Shaka.