Fans react to Hlomla Dandala’s explanation of why he left ‘The River’

The River on 1 Magic has maintained its position as one of South Africa’s top telenovelas over the years, however, the award-winning show is seeing high-profile exits such as Hlomla Dandala, who has now explained why he left. 

Dandala portrayed the character of Lindiwe Dikana’s husband Zweli Dikana in The River for five years.

A TikTok video of his interview on Newzroom Afrika went viral, with him explaining why he felt.

Hloma Dandala explains The River exit 

The actor said if you play a character for too long it’s hard to get other acting roles with versatility. 

“If you have established yourself as a leading man and you play something that establishes you being quite weaker if you don’t get out of that fast enough, it’s difficult, it gets harder and harder over time. In The River, one was happy with the character for a long time, however, it started growing apart in terms of creativity.” 

The actor decided to take control of his career, adding if he stayed “it would have started ruining one’s career”. 

He further reiterated the way the show is designed, it would affect his chances of getting other roles.

“The producers were generous enough in that they understood what I was saying. They were caught between a rock and a hard place, in that the structure of the show requires that one is duped (Zweli) and the other is duping (Lindiwe) eternally, for the structure of the show.”

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Telenovelas are time-consuming, main characters are expected to shoot for longer periods and daily. 

Dandala’s exit from the show was announced in October, with other notable faces leaving such as Big Brother Mzansi host Lawrence Maleka and Tango Ncetezo. The actors left the show to pursue other opportunities. 

In the past, there have also been appearances of Linda Mtoba as Nomonde and a crossover episode from The Queen on Mzansi Magic.

Dandala appeared in a leading role on Netflix’s action drama Justice Served in July. 

Fans react to Hlomla Dandala’s explanation of why he left The River