Talented star keeps her feet firmly on the ground

VETERAN actress and producer Ayanda Borotho is a confident, bold, unapologetic and an independent woman.

Her craft is rooted in love and words.

“It is ministry to me, this is a responsibility and privilege to be in a position not only where you have such a huge audience but have the credibility to speak and for people to listen.

“It is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly. This was gifted to me by God, so I have to be responsible for that gift,” she says.

As creator and executive producer of Nqobile, along with Adze Ugah and Nobuntu Webster, which premiered last Monday on DStv’s Mzansi Magic on channel 161 at 8pm, Borotho and her team have created a buzz with the new 13-part series.

It tells the story of the ill-treated wife of the Nkosi family dynasty who outsmarts her abusive husband and takes over his empire.

She makes a women-led e-hailing service, and with newfound grit, indirectly declares war against her spouse.

Aimed at liberating women and reminding them of their power, Borotho says she wants to give disempowered women control.

“It was an extension and elevation of purpose, it was always inevitable as I’ve always worked on gender inequality and it was content that resonated with who I am,” says Borotho, who starred for years in SABC 1’s Nomzamo.

Of course, her own journey also influenced Nqobile too.

“I struggled when I went into tertiary institution. I struggled as a single mother,” she adds.

Being an introspective and reflective person helped Borotho become who she is today.

“Elevation requires you to eliminate or isolate.”

She draws inspiration to the fact that one should not be apologetic of letting go of friends that no longer serve us, respectfully. She said setting boundaries especially with family in order to maintain inner peace is also vital.

“In order to transcend into another dimension I had to get rid of things that no longer served who I wanted to be which was people, places and things, boundaries are there to protect.

“Learn to say no. It’s okay to say no, it teaches you to not place too much responsibility on yourself, it creates emotional and mental stability.”

In a hard and fast producing industry as television, she says, it is common to see a lot of mediocre work with many of these so-called greats not producing excellence.

“In essence they are chasing hype and stardom and missing the most important thing, character.

“People care more about personality rather than character, so many people are chasing titles, it does not matter who you are, if your character stinks, I do not want to give you face time.”

Borotho says she does not want her ego stroked.

“I never allow people to put me on a pedestal. I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. I feel like life is unfolding and as long as I’m content, that is fine.”

She is spiritual and practices the daily ritual of prayer.

As a caring mother of three, Borotho is aware of the instant gratification age and shelters her kids, protecting their minds from the media garbage as her children don’t watch a lot of television.

“We watch television together as a family, it’s more of a reward than a norm.”

Borotho and her husband decided to move further south out of the business hub of Joburg.

She says it was more of a practical and conscious decision that she and her husband made for their children and the need for a creative outlet for her writing.

She believes deeply in the quote: “We must never deny our children the wisdom of struggle.”

Borotho says she encourages her children to plant trees, walk bare feet and play outdoors.

For sure, the talk about Nqobile, which stars Nqobile Khumalo, Lillian Dube, Kagiso Modupe, and Magic Hlatshwayo, is not on the menu when it’s family time.