Lovers & friends?
Hearts are on the line when Chumani comes out to his friend Tshepo.
Weekdays e.tv (*194) 19:30
Chumani’s (Ayanda Daweti) former school friend Tshepo (Bohang Moeko) accidentally turned his life upside-down when they ran into one another on Tuesday 3 April. And on Monday 9 April Chumani’s sister Xoli (Sivenathi Mabuya) was quick to pick up that he was making a suspiciously big fuss about Tshepo flirting with him. Even Chumani’s furious denial can’t convince her on Wednesday 25 April. As it turns out, she is right. Chumani takes a massive step on Thursday 26 April when he confesses his newly awakened feelings to Tshepo. “Just the fact that he is able to admit those feelings is a big step for Chumani. Tshepo knows what it’s taken for him to get there, just to say those words,” says Bohang. “Tshepo is also attracted to Chumani and when someone you’ve had a crush on for that long, who you’ve been attracted to for that long, says they feel the same way, obviously it’s a huge deal for you.”
STRAIGHT TO THE HEART
No matter who you are or who you love, there is no thrill like realising that your crush is into you too! “I haven’t been through Tshepo’s specific experience, but I know what it feels like to have had a crush on someone for the longest time and what it feels like to like someone and then have them like you back,” says Bohang. “It’s hard to describe, but it’s one of those feelings where it is just absolute joy and excitement. But at the same time you feel anxious because you don’t know if it’s for real this time, you don’t know if the moment is going to pass or last. It’s a lot of feelings at the same time. It’s almost overwhelming.”
YES AND NO, STOP AND GO
But Tshepo has a line he will not cross. On Tuesday 1 May, he puts the brakes on any further intimacy between himself and Chumani until Chumani comes out to his family. “He can relate fully to how Chumani is feeling. He has been through the exact same thing of first denying it and then eventually confronting and then having to go through the process of coming out. So Tshepo has empathy for him, and that’s why he’s taking it upon himself to guide him and help him,” says Bohang. “Because Tshepo’s gone through this whole hard journey of coming out to his family and having experienced how they reacted to that and how it made him feel, he is never going to settle for a relationship or a life where he has to hide who he is. And that was something that I could also relate to. I was in a relationship where the girl I was with was of a different religion to mine and her parents weren’t accepting of the fact that she was with me. She had to hide the relationship from her parents, from her family, and it ended up being completely miserable,” says Bohang.
HE COULD HAVE IT ALL
Tshepo really hopes that Chumani will choose the chance of love over fear. “If they get it to work, what he’ll get from the relationship is great companionship and someone he has known all his life. Apart from the physical, they have a lot in common. They’ve always clicked. And Tshepo has always found Chumani intriguing because Chumani is sort of a quiet, mysterious sort of person in general and I think Tshepo likes that and he appreciates his kindness and his support. He would be in a relationship with his own best friend!”
BEHIND THE SCENES
“Long before we started writing the story, we knew this is where Chumani is going,” reveals Scandal! script producer Grace Mahlaba. “We got general responses from the internet about how people’s parents responded. And then we spoke one-on-one to different people. What I realised was that actually the reactions were the same. I have a friend who is Afrikaans and when I told her this is how black people see homosexuality, she told me, ‘This is exactly where I was with my mother 40 years ago. Even now, we’re not in a good space, but we get along.’ You realise that it’s often about the parents’ fear and nobody ever asks the son or the daughter, ‘How do you feel?’ Nobody asks how you are going to tackle living in a society where there are so many people who are homophobic. Even in my family it was difficult to discuss,” admits Grace. “There’s this idea that the more you ‘flaunt’ it, the more you influence people [to be gay].
With Scandal’s spotlight firmly on Chumani’s path to accepting himself, Ayanda had his own journey to take, says Grace. “When I spoke to Ayanda, I said, ‘Listen, my boy, this story is coming. How do you feel?’ You should have seen the shock on his face. He was like, ‘Why me? Are there signs?’ I said, ‘It’s not signs. At a different time I might ask you to play a murderer. There are no signs of being a murderer in you; that is just the role’. He was concerned about the physical part of the character. And I said, ‘Actually, the physical part of it is so small. The emotional journey is the part that you are going to have to work hard on. He did come to the party and I am very proud of him. Bohang helped him a lot. We auditioned a lot of guys and Bohang was the only one where Ayanda himself allowed his touch to linger longer. Bohang was the one who brought the best out of Ayanda.”