It has ended in tears for Lunga Shabalala's Lindani on The River 1 Magic. After having his wife taken from right under his nose, he had now died in the hands of the same man, Mabutho. Last night's episode marked his last episode on the drama.
The actor played Lindani Dhlomo and his character's storyline has been leading for the past couple of episodes. Hence the scrutiny he faced, which lead to viewers judging his acting capabilities.
Having played Lindani for over two years, he says he is grateful for his character and the role The River played in his career.
“The River was an amazing experience and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an amazing team. I’ve definitely made friends and family for life there,” he told iHarare.
He has been criticized a lot on the telenovela but he was not fazed by the haters and remains positive. He is looking towards greener pastures and judging by his social media, he is already working on another project.
“I can’t reveal much at this stage. But I have another project coming up, which will be revealed soon. I look forward to what God has in store for me,” he told the publication.
The River is Lunga's first acting gig since his rise to fame on the SABC 1 entertainment and variety TV show, Selimathunzi. Some people would say that Lunga is nailing his role as Lindani Dhlomo on the award-winning drama series, whilst some are not completely convinced.
This storyline has seen Lunga be pushed to show off his acting skills and just how far he can he take his talent. But everyone was impressed with Lunga's talent with some finding it a bit painful to watch the actor, as they do not seem him connecting with his emotions as much as they would like him too.
Lindani's criticism followed him facing infidelity and heartbreak after discovering that his wife Tumi has been cheating on him with his cousin Mabutho.
For weeks, Lindani and Tumi's marriage had begun to crack, as the couple began to realise that they both want different things. Lindani being the simple man and wanted to move out of the Dikana mansion and into his own RDP house with his wife, well Tumi was not prepared to leave her lavish life to go stay in the mansion to go stay in small RDP house.
Speaking about the hate he has received throughout his acting career, he said people talked anyway but he only focused on the positive reviews.
“You can’t stop your life because of the fear of what people will say because they always have something to say. There were people who showed me, love, especially with the cheating storyline. I received a lot of compliments from people who saw my improvement," he said.
