Sunday night TV is often dominated by drama series like iNumber Number and Tjovitjo or reality shows like Our Perfect Wedding or Idols SA, however this past weekend the airing of Kalushi dominated among viewers.

 The film, based on the life of liberation struggle martyr Solomon Mahlangu, stars the likes of Thabo Rametsi and Pearl Thusi. It screened on SABC 1 on Sunday night and soon trended on social media as fans reacted to the emotion on screen
The movie was a hit with fans who flooded social media with comments and tweets praising the film and its power to “tell the African story in an African way”.

 Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Thabo said that he was humbled by the response the film got from fans.

 “The movie finally had the chance to be shown on a free-to-air channel. It gave a lot more people a chance to see the film and I think that it is testament to the power of the film that it made such an impact. The cast and crew are very happy that people stayed up on a Sunday night to watch the film and we will be going to schools and other places to share it with as many South Africans as we can,” Thabo said.
Thabo bemoaned the lack of support for the film by local cinemas but said that it was about as much as a local film could hope to do in the current climate.
“There was no chance of it doing better than it did, just because of the climate of films at the moment. It was shown on very few screens (at very few cinemas) and credit to all those who came out to support it nonetheless. At the end of the day, I think it did well just in getting people to speak about the film and its themes,” he added.
Despite this, the film was a hit internationally and recently won the award for best film at the Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt.
Here’s what fans had to say about the film on social media:




Times Live