PLAYING mai guru (first wife), a mother figure to her husband’s other five wives, was not going to be a challenge for Wanga Zulu, alias Junza, who has done TV series and commercials for over 15 years.
Yes! She has literally seen it all in the Zambian film industry.
We caught up with the 46-year-old actress and mother of five and she did not shy away from letting us in, on her journey in the film industry.
“Before I joined the film industry, I used to be a teacher at a family owned school in Mazabuka,” she says.
Wanga signed up for her first TV series, Brothers, in 2003. Thereafter she featured in a number of movies – both drama and series, adverts and musical videos.
“I have previously worked in productions such as Hopes and Dreams which aired on M-Net, and done a number of movies with Mingeli Palata such as Maliposa, Not My Family and even Foolish Me,” she says.
“So, yes, I have been around where film and acting is concerned,” she adds.
Her journey in the film industry can be traced as far back as 2003 when she first enrolled at Henry Kapoko’s Media House for a film training course.
“I trained there for three years and in the process, I featured in two productions, one of which was Hopes and Dreams,” she says.
She then later responded to a MUVI TV advert for the Brothers series, ‘lo and behold’, she was picked for the main character of Lindiwe Mawele, a role she was to execute with excellence, earning the moniker Mrs Mawele.
The years of acting and doing radio drama for BBC were apparently preparing her for a bigger role of mai guru in Mpala, Zambezi Magic’s drama series in which she features as the first of Nguzu’s six wives.
“When we were working on Zed Man, Frank Sibbuku and Henry Joe Sakala told me about this new and big thing coming in the name of Mpali. I was excited and in no time, I was signed up for it,”she says.
What’s even better is that she was asked to recommend someone that was going to play the role of Nguzu - within a blink of an air, she recommended Monde Mutale, who also happens to be her husband's cousin.
“It wasn’t easy for him at first because he was just debuting in the industry. But with time, he has gone on to nail the role without any difficulties,”she says.
Born in Mazabuka on April 1, 1974, Wanga is married to Daniel Mutale with whom she has two children.
“I also have three other children from my previous marriage with my late husband Felix Ntokota,”she says.
Ironically, none of her children are into acting but she stresses that they have been very supportive of her acting career.
“The time I quit teaching to join acting, it wasn’t easy. My husband would always discourage and ask me to quit because it was not paying. I couldn’t stop because of the passion I had for it. But I am glad that my family is very supportive of me now, albeit it is because they have seen what it has done for us,” she says.
Having been in the industry for a long time, Wanga says the coming of Zambezi Magic in the fold has been life changing to many industry players.
“The journey has been really great now. Of course there will be ups and downs here and there, but look at us now. We are where we are today because of game changers such as Zambezi Magic. The film industry is today a lucrative industry so much that almost everyone can now drive, build and live a comfortable life off film,” she says.
She says playing the role of Mai Guru has been very thrilling much as she doesn’t fancy the role in real life.
“Of course, no one would like to share their husband. But it has been really fun looking at where we are coming from,” she says.
She adds: “We relate very well with everyone on and off the set, We are like one big family.”
Wanga owes it all to Zambezi Magic for changing the landscape of the film industry in Zambia.
“Before they came on board, most people and actors never used to get paid for what they do. Mostly, it was just about providing content and it ends there. But since the emergence of Zambezi Magic, that has started to fade off, we are seeing actors and content providers being appreciated more for what they do,” she says.
Wanga went to Kaonga primary and Mazabuka Girls secondary schools in Mazabuka. Mpali airs on Zambezi Magic every Monday to Thursday at 20:30 hours.
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