Mzansi tunes in to the rhythm of Niki once again
Vixen back with lots of drama and chaos
Rhythm City’s resident bad girl Nolo Phiri is back with a bang.
After over a year off the small screen, Phiri reprises her role as vixen Niki on the e.tv soapie.
It can only mean trouble for the show’s power couple Suffocate (Mduduzi Mabaso) and Puleng (Tebogo Khalo).
Niki is a fugitive – after all, she fled town to avoid being arrested for the murder of Suffocate’s younger brother Themba (Sphamandla Dhludhlu).
She’s forced to come out of hiding in the current storyline that sees Busi, her daughter with Suffocate, kidnapped.
“I missed being a performer, just being the art and colour of the show. I had been on the show for six years, so I missed the familiarity of the home that I had built,” Phiri says.
“I missed the character too. In the beginning I was glad that I could pause with her a bit, because once you are an actress people think you are your work.”
She cautions of lots of drama ahead as the chaotic situation she walks into escalates.
“She’s not the kind of Niki that people know, who a lot of the times brings in glamour and sex appeal. This time she’s a little rundown. She is struggling to belong in the world again,” she says.
“She’s fighting against the circumstances that caused her to leave. She is negotiating her place in that world. She comes back with nothing and she is fighting back for something, which is her child.”
After 12 years in entertainment, the 31-year-old star decided to take a break from acting early last year. During her time off Phiri got to work a lot behind the scenes.
She strongly encourages other stars working in front of the camera to start creating their own work.
“The industry keeps getting bigger and interesting. It’s more progressive in the sense that there are more opportunities and it’s easier for you to cross borders with your work,” says Phiri.
“It’s easier for you to create your own content and be your own creative. You need to launch yourself because there are so many platforms you can access for you to get yourself out there.”
She says she enjoys the evolution of the TV industry and how it keeps empowering artists to find their own voice. Although she missed playing feisty Niki, she insists that she’s nothing like the dolled-up and troubled character. “Because of this character people think that I’m an extrovert, so when people meet me they expect me to have that energy and sass,” she says.
“I love my own space and containing my own world. I’m very guarded, so the misconception is that I’m an ‘It-girl’. People also get shocked when they meet me and find that I’m toned down, I’m not as glamorous.”
But her favourite role in life is that of motherhood. Phiri has a five-year-old son.
“The best thing about motherhood is relearning how you see the world through their eyes. It’s my biggest achievement in life.”