A story of family values, secrets and deceit
ACOMPELLING and captivating new drama series that focuses on polygamy, deception, deceit and homosexuality has its lead, Eddie (Saint Seseli) stuck in two worlds.
The show follows the story of Eddie, whose circumstances threaten to put his world in turmoil when a secret he has kept is on the verge of coming out. Family values are challenged in this series as iKhaya explores the lives of two families unknowingly headed by one man.
Produced by Urbanbrew, iKhaya is set against the backdrop of Daveyton and the rural village of Ga-Modjadji, Limpopo where the tangled web of deceit starts to unwind.
Tonight spoke to Seseli about his new role on the Mzansi Magic drama.
“My character is originally a rural boy. He, together with his wife, have a dream of owning a farm, but his dreams ended when his daughter was born with a heart problem. He had to move to Johannesburg and work for Mr Mbata’s transport company,” he said.
After working at the company, Eddie was lucky to be promoted, but it came with a twist when Mr Mbata asked him to marry his daughter.
“Eddie right now leads a double life – he has two wives and children with them. One lives in the city and the other in Limpopo.
“He’s not a bad guy, but his circumstances forced him into the situation he’s in. Although his heart belongs to his first wife in Limpopo, he also cares deeply for this other family and has learnt to love them equally over the years,” he said.
Like a few other shows, iKhaya focuses heavily on polygamy.
“It brings the conversation to the forefront. Some people have deeply held beliefs that cheating is okay. This series shows how difficult it is to balance the two lives and be two separate people, but eventually the lie will come out. People need to speak up and not cheat,” Seseli said.
“I think this show makes for great viewing because people love drama. They like juicy stuff, and this storyline offers top class entertainment. What attracted me to the role of Eddie when I read the script was that I was being challenged. “This role called for a lot from me,” he added. Seseli, who can also be seen in e.tv’s Rhythm
City and SABC2’s Keeping Score said that while he is blessed to be getting good roles, it’s sometimes a curse.
“Being cast in many roles is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you get to showcase yourself in different roles and it helps because people are able to seek you out, but then there is the other side, where an actor gets over exposed and because of this, not so many roles are offered,” he said.
However, he said he’s super excited to be involved in so many shows because he gets to do what he loves the most.
“No day is ever the same. I’ve been in and out of the industry for 30 years now, and at one point I use to call myself ‘a professional audition attender, now I can call myself a ‘working actor’.