Latest / Drive with John Perlman / A Song A Book and A Dish Ntando Rambani, Actress and Author

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A Song A Book and A Dish Ntando Rambani, Actress and Author · Drive with John Perlman

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  Speaker 1: A song, a book, and a dish on 702. 702 Drive,
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  Speaker 1: it's that time of the week. We really do look
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  Speaker 1: forward to it throughout the week. Busy as we've been
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  Speaker 1: with elections, there's nothing quite like getting to spend some
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  Speaker 1: time with somebody who you think you kind of know,
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  Speaker 1: but you don't know everything about them. Not that that's
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  Speaker 1: ever possible. We ask them to choose a song, pick
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  Speaker 1: a book, and to say something about food. Either choose
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  Speaker 1: a dish or perhaps give us some stories about something.
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  Speaker 1: that dish and others shared with family and friends. My
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  Speaker 1: guest has won awards for the work that she's done
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  Speaker 1: on many television series that have been hugely popular. Rhythm City,
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  Speaker 1: The Queen, Shaga Ilembe, to name just a couple. She's
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  Speaker 1: also published a book, that we're going to talk about
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  Speaker 1: as well. Ntando Rambani is with me in the studio.
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  Speaker 1: Very good afternoon. Welcome to 702 Drive. Good afternoon.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. How are you doing?
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  Speaker 1: Doing well, thank you. And I hope you're well too.
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  Speaker 1: Growing up in Orange Farm as the youngest of three children.
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  Speaker 3: Of four.
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  Speaker 1: Of four. Okay. Youngest of four.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, three siblings. Yes. There's me and my math. Youngest
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  Speaker 1: of four. How do you think you were shaped by
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  Speaker 1: being the youngest?
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  Speaker 3: Firstly, we didn't grow up in the same place. So
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  Speaker 3: we're just scattered around. The first born was in Middlelands
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  Speaker 3: in Soweto. Second born was in Krasmir with my grandfather.
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  Speaker 3: And my sister and I, my third born sister and
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  Speaker 3: I were together. So it also didn't feel like I
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  Speaker 3: was actually the youngest because I was the more responsible one,
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  Speaker 3: the more matured one.
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  Speaker 2: So it really, all my life, I.
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  Speaker 3: Didn't really believe that I was the youngest. It's, you know,
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  Speaker 3: only when someone says, who's the firstborn.
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  Speaker 2: Who's the last one, then I remember I'm actually the
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  Speaker 2: last one.
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  Speaker 1: So who were you living with?
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  Speaker 2: I lived with my grandmother who raised me, my maternal grandmother.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, tell us about her.
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  Speaker 3: Who?
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  Speaker 1: Wow.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, she's a woman of.
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  Speaker 1: We meet the most extraordinary grandmothers on this feature, on
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  Speaker 1: this show.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: They, in many ways, are the spine of this country,
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  Speaker 1: it seems to me. Was your grandmother special in your life?
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  Speaker 1: I would assume she was.
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  Speaker 2: She was.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I was raised by different people in different
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  Speaker 3: phases of my life. But she is like the biggest
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  Speaker 3: part of my life because when I was in grade three, yes,
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  Speaker 3: that's when she started like we started living with her
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  Speaker 3: and she raised me.
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  Speaker 2: She was not the kindest of grandmothers.
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  Speaker 3: But what I'm grateful for is that she did her part,
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  Speaker 3: which really wasn't her part, but she did it anyways.
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  Speaker 3: You know, she raised us. She took good care of us.
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  Speaker 3: She bullied us there and there. She taught us lessons.
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  Speaker 3: And I think more than anything, it's just gratitude that
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  Speaker 3: I'm filled with that, you know, she did all of
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  Speaker 3: that for us.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we're going to come to your book a little
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  Speaker 1: later because it is about raising children. It's called From
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  Speaker 1: One Mother to Another. And I want to get something
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  Speaker 1: about that from you. But first of all, school, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: you went to a couple of primary schools, Ikutuleni Primary,
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  Speaker 1: Matiwane Combined, Govan and Beki Primary School. What kind of
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  Speaker 1: primary school kid were you? Were you, for example... Already
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  Speaker 1: wanting to be in school plays, wanting to act? No.
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  Speaker 3: In primary school, I didn't know... I didn't have a
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  Speaker 3: direction of where I wanted to go. But I was
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  Speaker 3: a very smart kid. I was very active. I loved
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  Speaker 3: public speaking. I loved poetry.
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  Speaker 2: I loved, you know....
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  Speaker 3: I loved being alone, funny enough. I know people think
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  Speaker 3: that I'm an extrovert, but I didn't really love, you know,
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  Speaker 3: having too much friends around me.
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  Speaker 2: But having to think of being on TV was not.
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  Speaker 2: Part of the plan then.
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  Speaker 3: I think I only discovered that I want to be
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  Speaker 3: on TV in grade nine when I was already in
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  Speaker 3: high school.
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  Speaker 1: Was there one thing that happened or was it just
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  Speaker 1: something that crept up on you?
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  Speaker 2: Grade eight, I used to watch a lot of TV.
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  Speaker 3: Loved, loved, loved watching your TV a lot. And I
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  Speaker 3: used to see myself a lot. I used to see
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  Speaker 3: myself a lot in those presenters. They were lovely and bubbly.
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  Speaker 3: And growing up where I grew up, when you were confident,
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  Speaker 3: they would shut you up to say, no, you are
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  Speaker 3: doing too much. So those presenters on screen would represent
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  Speaker 3: me somehow. And it felt like That's where I belong.
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  Speaker 3: So that's where I drew the, you know, I got
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  Speaker 3: excited rather to want to kickstart my journey in television.
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  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about books and let's talk about your book,
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  Speaker 1: From One Mother to Another.
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: What made you want to write the book and what
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  Speaker 1: do you hope the book will give to other people?
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  Speaker 3: So I've always wanted to tell my story one way
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  Speaker 3: or the other and writing a book was the option
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  Speaker 3: this time around. And this book is very close to
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  Speaker 3: my heart because I literally.
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  Speaker 2: Opened up and gave my all. It's very vulnerable.
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  Speaker 3: So if you get to get the book, have some
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  Speaker 3: tissues as well.
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  Speaker 2: A box of tissues. Very close to my heart.
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  Speaker 3: I wrote my story through the lens of motherhood, which
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  Speaker 3: is something that I genuinely love and adore that has
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  Speaker 3: made me the woman that I am and the mother
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  Speaker 3: that I am today. And what I hope for readers
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  Speaker 3: to take from the book... Honestly, I always say that
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  Speaker 3: everyone has their own perspective after reading the book. So
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  Speaker 3: whatever it is that they take, though, it should be positive.
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  Speaker 3: It doesn't matter what it is, but it should be positive.
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  Speaker 1: It's so interesting what you're saying in Tandoor, because in
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  Speaker 1: the book, you really want to be yourself. And when
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  Speaker 1: you act, you need to be somebody else. But in
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  Speaker 1: being somebody else, you're also giving a lot of yourself away.
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  Speaker 1: as well. How different was this? Because it's quite solitary,
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  Speaker 1: I would have thought writing, although you were co-writing with
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  Speaker 1: Zeebo Sitole. So there's that collaboration, but very different to acting.
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  Speaker 1: Tell us about the difference between the two and how
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  Speaker 1: you navigated that.
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  Speaker 3: Firstly, I prefer being myself more than anything else. And
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  Speaker 3: it's something that I've kept with me for such a
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  Speaker 3: long time. When I started off in this industry, I've
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  Speaker 3: always been myself and It's so easy, you know, to
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  Speaker 3: detach from yourself and become someone else as soon as
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  Speaker 3: you're exposed to a lot of things that happen in
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  Speaker 3: this entertainment industry. So I've always remained myself. I've always
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  Speaker 3: remained so authentic. And I said, You know, if I
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  Speaker 3: don't write this book with all the authenticity and, you know,
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  Speaker 3: the vulnerability and everything, if I don't pour into it,
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  Speaker 3: then it really wouldn't make sense and wouldn't be my
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  Speaker 3: real story. So it was quite easy because I'm just
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  Speaker 3: doing what I know. You know, I'm just sharing my
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  Speaker 3: experiences that I've already experienced. Rather than acting, acting is hard.
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  Speaker 1: Yes.
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  Speaker 2: I love it though. I love hard challenges. I love it.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely love them. But acting is a lot. You have to,
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  Speaker 3: as you had said, you have to give in a
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  Speaker 3: lot of yourself. to produce excellent work. And I love
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  Speaker 3: it either way. So it's two things that are totally
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  Speaker 3: different from one another, but I genuinely love them anyways.
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  Speaker 1: Let's go back to the book because you deal with
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  Speaker 1: difficult stuff and it's your life and you're deciding to
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  Speaker 1: share that with other people, which is already a vulnerability.
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  Speaker 1: Was it exhausting, exhilarating, both? I mean, after a spell
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  Speaker 1: of writing, would you sort of need to run around
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  Speaker 1: the house because you know what you've put down is
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  Speaker 1: what you wanted to say? Or would you flop down
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  Speaker 1: on the floor and, you know, hope someone brings you
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  Speaker 1: a cup of tea?
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  Speaker 3: First and foremost, I was just happy that my dream
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  Speaker 3: is eventually coming to life.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 3: Because this book was supposed to maybe release like three
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  Speaker 3: years ago. But I mean, God chose it to happen now.
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  Speaker 3: And it was a little bit intimidating to... open up
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  Speaker 3: that much to the world not knowing how they're going
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  Speaker 3: to receive it you know and how they're going to
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  Speaker 3: take it but either way I just wanted it to
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  Speaker 3: become as raw as it is and I think also
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  Speaker 3: having to collaborate with Zibu it made things a little
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  Speaker 3: bit much easier because I mean she is an author
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  Speaker 3: by profession and She understands how the process works and
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  Speaker 3: all of that. And I mean, I had to read
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  Speaker 3: this book more than 10 times before it went for print.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm not regretting anything that came out here because
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  Speaker 3: we had so many chances to change what I was
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  Speaker 3: not comfortable with, what I was comfortable with, what I
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  Speaker 3: wanted to put out there.
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  Speaker 2: But everything in this book is as real as it gets.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk about food. Let's talk about your family now.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, mealtimes in your home now will go back
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  Speaker 1: in time to Orange Farm. But right now, how important
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  Speaker 1: is gathering people who are important to sit around a
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  Speaker 1: table and eat?
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  Speaker 3: First and foremost, I am a great cook. Secondly, I
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  Speaker 3: love food so much. And I always want to, you know,
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  Speaker 3: show love in.
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  Speaker 2: What I make.
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  Speaker 3: So I pour my love into the pots and people,
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  Speaker 3: you know... I mean, everyone loves my food. Ask anybody, okay?
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  Speaker 3: We have different dishes all the time and I love experimenting,
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  Speaker 3: you know, new things to eat and I love discovering
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  Speaker 3: new dishes.
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  Speaker 2: And honestly.
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  Speaker 3: I love everything, but one particular thing that stands out
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  Speaker 3: that I wouldn't mind eating it any day is uputu namasi.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know if you know what that is.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, I do.
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  Speaker 3: Uputu namasi. I will eat it any day. I love
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  Speaker 3: it so much. I grew up eating a lot of that.
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  Speaker 3: So I guess it somehow does take me back to
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  Speaker 3: where I'm from and it reminds me of.
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  Speaker 2: Of where I started.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, mealtimes are obviously it's about food, the preparation
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  Speaker 1: of the food, the sitting down and the, Ooh, this
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  Speaker 1: looks great. And this is good as you, as you
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  Speaker 1: start to eat, but it's also a way of stopping
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  Speaker 1: the day. What can be, uh, you know, just putting
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  Speaker 1: aside all the stuff that you're rushing to do and saying, okay,
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  Speaker 1: whatever constitutes our family, or in my case, there's just
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  Speaker 1: two of us. And now we're going to talk. I mean, is,
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  Speaker 1: food important for you as well, that it's a gathering
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  Speaker 1: time and not just the meal?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, totally.
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  Speaker 3: This is the time where we get, I mean, there's
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  Speaker 3: a lot of things that we do. My husband goes
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  Speaker 3: to the office, he comes back, he needs to go
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  Speaker 3: to the studio regularly. My children go to school and
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  Speaker 3: we come back and this is the time to just,
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  Speaker 3: you know, relax and have chats and connect and unite
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  Speaker 3: as a family. So it also brings in that it's
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  Speaker 3: not just about the food, but we also get to.
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  Speaker 2: Connect and chats and have some great family time.
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  Speaker 1: When you are, I want to do music and we'll
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  Speaker 1: play your song in a moment and you'll tell us
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  Speaker 1: why you've chosen it. But music more generally, when you are,
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  Speaker 1: for example, getting into character, getting ready to go on
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  Speaker 1: set and shoot, is there music you play in the
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  Speaker 1: car on the way or maybe in the dressing room?
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  Speaker 1: Does music work in your life in that way?
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  Speaker 2: 100%.
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  Speaker 3: It also depends on how I'm feeling on the day.
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  Speaker 3: So maybe on my way to sit, I'm feeling a
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  Speaker 3: little bit down. I play worship songs, not a lot though,
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  Speaker 3: or I'll just play, you know, just to give me
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  Speaker 3: some energy and, you know, just to kickstart the day
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  Speaker 3: in a very high on a very high note but
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  Speaker 3: there's this one song that I genuinely love it blesses
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  Speaker 3: my soul it reminds me where I come from it
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  Speaker 3: reminds me how blessed I am it's it's it's proverb
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  Speaker 3: and the soil is titled highly blessed and highly favored
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  Speaker 3: is exactly what it is like I feel really blessed
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  Speaker 3: and highly favored you know it reminds me that I
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  Speaker 3: I'm the chosen one and I'm forever grateful.
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  Speaker 1: And this song, you'll pull it out just whenever you
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  Speaker 1: need it?
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  Speaker 2: Anytime. In the shower, when I'm driving, when I'm in
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  Speaker 2: a good mood, when I'm sad. Anytime.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, well, we are highly favored to have had you
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  Speaker 1: with us on 702 Drive. Tando Rambani, look out for
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  Speaker 1: her book. It is called From One Mother to Another,
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  Speaker 1: co-written with Zibor Sitole. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me.
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  Speaker 1: Your song, your book, and your dish. Let's enjoy the music.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be right back. So you can trust me. God
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  Speaker 1: has forgiven you. Because he is the king of kings
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  Speaker 1: with a plan. And he will do everything that he can.
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  Speaker 2: So don't worry about the sins of a man.
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  Speaker 1: Look behind us. Nothing else matters. Let's pray. I can
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  Speaker 1: spread your name for the youth to feel. And lessen
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  Speaker 1: the pain that only you can heal. To achieve us
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  Speaker 1: of awesome greatness. And to believe us who fortune favors.
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  Speaker 3: It's no secret because all it
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  Speaker 2: Takes is Jesus as Lord and Savior.