It’s a Thursday afternoon and she has just come home from attending a church service. Mama V chats to Drum about the new reality show her family is shooting.
Veronica Bala (71) is the matriarch of the very famous Bala Family.
With four children and seven grandchildren, she has seen it all and now she excited to share front row seats to their family life.
“Zwai and Pinky came to me about this, and I did not understand it. Then they explained it to me that it is like a documentary of the family and then it made sense to me.”
She wants this reality show, called The Bala Family, to show their humanity.
“People see other people on TV and think they are different to them. But the truth is that we are like everyone else. We have challenges and differences of opinions like all other families.
“I would like the result of this show to be that people will watch us and be encouraged to hold their heads up high when they go through their own challenges. They must know that they are not alone. There are other families, even if they are famous, that go through similar things.”
She says because they are real, everything about them is real too.
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“We are human beings like everyone else. Sometimes distance between family members can create rifts because you don’t know what the other is thinking. But what I have enjoyed about shooting this is that we have become closer as a family and we have been able to air out some of our issues.
“The show is not only going to show the nice things about our family, but it will also show the unpleasant ones and that is okay because it is our reality.”
The Bala family came to fame for their love for music. Pinky, Zwai, Loyiso, and Phelo are all musically gifted.
The family will take the country behind the scenes as they try to bury their differences and rebuild their relationships.
Zwai's success has been influential in both the music industry as well as within his family, spurring his brothers Loyiso and Phelo to pursue their own successful music careers. He's credited with having simultaneously helped to revolutionise the genre of Kwaito music through the legendary award-winning group TKZee and is recognised among Africa’s most versatile musicians, crossover producers and musical directors.
Now, a couple of marriages, divorces and a new generation of Bala kids later, their extended family, including mom Veronica, hopes that this challenging journey that they are sharing with their fans will help connect their disjointed lives, rekindle their love for each other, and create a sense of belonging and safety.
In The Bala Family, viewers will be taken on an emotional rollercoaster, and will see how this family overcomes a number of obstacles, including their individual religious and cultural beliefs, sexuality, and cultural views on family life.
The show will premiere on from 20 April on Mzansi Magic’s channel 161.
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Shirley Adonisi, director of local entertainment channels at M-Net says they want to tell authentic stories that can resonate with and inspire their viewers.
“Our reality TV has proven to be a success and we expect The Bala Family to take centre stage as we bring viewers up close and personal and to know a side that they never knew about their favourite personalities.
“The Bala Family story is a powerful reminder of how families can come together to overcome obstacles and create something meaningful. Viewers will be taken on a journey of how this family seeks to build their own legacy in a way that will resonate with South Africans.”
