Vatiswa Ndara, Queen of drama
Star delves into the underworld on ‘Harvest’
Fans of Vatiswa Ndara must be salivating. As if her beguiling character of NomaRussia on Mzansi Magic’s Igazi drama was not enough, she now also plays Clementine Mfona on e.tv’s new Monday night drama.
After a fruitless three-week chase for a sit-down interview, Ndara and I finally agree on a telephonic chat.
It’s a few hours to go before the big debut of Harvest.
“I’m nervous,” she confesses to me. “I’m always nervous with any show because I wonder what people will think of it. Will they like it or not? But it’s an interesting story when I read it. I mean, three strong women in an illegal [business] world run by men. I hope it translates well on screen.
“I get nervous even on set as I get the script and I hope that I do justice to the role. I always wonder why they thought to cast me as that character. You can only do the best with the help of directors and strong actors around you.”
Hardly what I expected to hear from this genius of a performer. She is one of the most liked and revered actresses on TV right now. Her portrayal of the devious NomaRussia has propelled her to the top of the acting food chain. Her star has been on the rise since the days of Generations where she played Mamfundisi and then Miriam in Home Affairs.
And now with the introduction of Clementine on Harvest, fans are in for a double whammy of talent as she will be appearing on Sundays as NomaRussia and then as Clementine on Mondays, almost schizophrenically.
We laugh about this. “You have to be schizophrenic to survive this world. And I hope my fans go on these journeys with me,” she jokes.
Ndara says she was attracted to Harvest by the criminal element in the storyline, which sees three widows take over an illegal business run under the guise of a global frozen foods empire when their husbands are tragically murdered.
“I wanted to see what people do in this kind of world. I love that Clementine comes across as a strong woman and very much in control. She has dignity.”
She shares screen time with another goddess of acting, Masasa Mbangeni, who plays Celia, and presenter Khanya Mkangisa is the younger widow, Tshepiso.
Ndara says when she got the script for season one of Igazi, she remarked to Shona Ferguson, the executive producer, that NomaRussia was mad and she hoped to bring her madness across.
“The tricky thing is that these kind of characters can easily put viewers off. I had to figure out how I could make this a loveable yet hated character. In the end I was told that the way I portrayed her was not how it was written. I can’t say it was a good or bad thing,” she laughs. Be that as it may, viewers are lapping up the drama of NomaRussia and her schemes.
Reflecting on these meaty roles, Ndara is thankful.
“I’ve been privileged to play such crazy characters and to see how far I can go as a performer. When I played Mamfundisi in Generations, my friends said it was big and what else could I do after that. I never imagined getting a role like NomaRussia. I didn’t even think she would be this big,” she says.
However, she still nurses one dream. “My little dream is to be in a movie with Meryl Streep. The word to describe Meryl has not been created. She’s like wine, she is still dynamite on screen. Even just two lines with Meryl... as long as I’m in a scene with her,” she gushes.
● Harvest is on e.tv Mondays at 9.30pm and Igazi is on
Mzansi Magic Sundays at
8pm.