MLFM radio drama celebrates the airing of 2 000 episodes

LOVED by both young and old, Munghana Lonene FM’s award-winning radio soapie, Mina Hi Mina celebrated the airing of 2 000 episodes on Monday.

Known for its multicultural, multi-lingual and multiracial approach, Mina hi Mina has become a household name.

According to Munghana Lonene FM station manager, James Shikwambana, the radio soapie is so popular that listeners have been asking to purchase copies of aired episodes, with requests coming from as far as Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

“The radio drama also has audiences from abroad listening via audio streaming facilities, attesting how appealing, informative, educational and entertaining the drama is. With a careful selection of characters from station’s drama producers, the soapie addresses social life, nation building, service delivery, crime awareness, health awareness and xenophobia,” said Shikwambana.

Mina Hi Mina was the first SABC radio drama to be turned into a radio soapie.

The popularity of the soapie led to it having an omnibus.

Shikwambana said writers were carefully selected from a pool of seasoned drama writers.

“Some of our soapie writers are academics from various educational institutions, which make the end product professional and appealing, and they all embark on research and brainstorm ideas before crafting their material,” he said.

He said the approach had proven to be fruitful for both artists and producers as they had a tangible product to work with.

“Actors audition for the different roles and are encouraged to be creative and innovative in order to bring out the character in question.”

Produced by Ali Maluleke and Million Mabunda, the soapie won the 2013 MTN Radio Awards Best PBS Drama award.

Shikwambana said the popularity of the soapie led to the extension of its broadcast time from 10 to 15 minutes per episode, with the omnibus, which is aired on Sundays, being broadcast for an hour and 20 minutes. “The soapie has put the station on the map and with its popularity continuing to grow and reaching countries beyond our borders, we remain confident of achieving double the numbers of the celebrated episodes and going beyond without any glitch.”

Mina Hi Mina is produced by veterans in radio drama.