‘You don’t mess with my dream’: Mfundi Vundla explains why he fired 16 ‘Generations’ actors [VIDEO]

· Citizen

Veteran producer Mfundi Vundla recently explained why he fired 16 actors from the popular soap Generations in 2014.

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Speaking to Thando Thabethe on 94.7, Vundla said the incident followed a strike over royalties.

“In the middle of the scene, whilst the scene is being shot, Thato [Mulamu] walks into the scene. This guy is an actor. He just walks into the scene and whispers something in Menzi’s ear. Menzi [Ngubeni] drops everything and walks out,” he said.

Vundla said it became clear the actors were unhappy about not receiving royalties.

He added that the actors wanted him to fight for royalties on their behalf, but he refused.

“Royalties are paid by the broadcaster, number one. I don’t own the show. It’s owned by the broadcaster. Basically, they wanted me to fight the battle, and I refused.

“My point was, you are actors, you go fight your battles. I have my own battles to fight as a producer. I have a contract, I have to deliver to the SABC,” Vundla said.

He said the strike was a breach of contract and that he gave the actors a four-day deadline to return to work.

“So I said, I’m not going to be in breach. So you get out of here. You’ve walked out. You have four days. I gave them a deadline to return to work. If you don’t return to work, it’s all over. They didn’t turn up. And that’s it,” he said.

Vundla added that Generations was his dream.

“I created a show which I was extremely proud of. And I said, nobody’s going to mess with my dream. You don’t mess with my dream,” he said.

Strike over royalties and longer contracts

At the time, the actors released a joint statement saying their demands, including longer contracts, had not been met.

“We are essentially in exactly the same position we were in last October when we first went on strike,” the statement read.

“Nothing has been resolved. We came back to work after the first strike in good faith, on the understanding that all the issues that we’d brought up would be addressed by the SABC by this past March – a date that they set.

“Since then, they have missed their own deadline and pushed the date out, with no discernible resolution to our grievances in sight.”

Among the 16 fired actors was Anga Makubalo (MJ), Atandwa Kani (Samora), Katlego Danke (Dineo), Mandla Gaduka (Choppa), Menzi Ngubane (Sibusiso), Nambitha Mpulwana (Mawande) and Patrick Shai (Patrick).

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