Meet the Khumalos is a 2025 South African romantic comedy that premiered on April 11th, 2025, and is currently streaming on Netflix. The film was written by Gllian Breskun and Wendy Gumede, produced by Urban Vision Productions and directed by Jayan Moodley.
Meet The Khumalos is a fresh adaptation of the 2017 hit film Meet the Kandasamys, also penned and directed by Jayan Moodley. The movie is rated PG-13 and runs for 1 hour, 33 minutes.
The Premise of Meet The Khumalos
About 20 years ago, Gracious (Grace), the matriarch of the Khumalos, lost her parents tragically in a town called KwaMashu. Together with her best friend Bongi, she decides to leave Kwamashu for Joburg, but Bongi never showed. Grace felt really betrayed and decided to leave alone.
Fast forward to 20 years later, Bongi and her family (The Sitholes) move in next door to the Khumalos, Grace’s family. Grace was so filled with rage and anger and did everything possible to make them leave.
However, her son, Sizwe, falls madly in love with Bongi’s daughter, Siphesihle (Sphe); their mothers find out and make it their life’s mission to break them up. But will they manage to do it? Or will they hurt their kids in the process?
Cast and Performances
Khanyi Mbau as Gracious (Grace):
Khanyi Mbau, who we know from Young, Famous & African, plays Grace. Grace is a beautiful, rich, flamboyant, and dramatic woman. She has a perfect family, and she loves her husband and son, but everything goes downhill when the new neighbours move in. Her portrayal of Grace was authentic.
Ayanda Borotho as Bongi Sithole:
She portrayed Sphe’s mother and Grace’s best friend turned arch enemy; she relocated with her family from KwaMashu to Umhlanga suburb right next door to Grace.
Khosi Ngema as Siphesihle (Sphe):
She played Bongi’s daughter and Sizwe’s love interest. Because of the conflict between their moms, they were forced to keep their relationship a secret. Her performance was outstanding, embodying the role exceptionally well.
Jesse Suntele as Sizwe Nkosi Benson Khumalo:
He was Grace’s son and Sphe’s lover. Sizwe was deeply in love with Sphe but couldn’t find the courage to tell her even when she asked him about his feelings towards her. He gave a captivating performance, allowing the audience to fully relate with the character.
What I Liked About the Movie
Cinematography and picture quality
The visuals are great – beautiful houses one would love to live in. There are some really beautiful shots when the couple go camping, and the costumes are pretty fun, too. I especially love how the two leading women can seem so different and yet so alike.
Beautiful Representation of Zulu Culture
The movie depicts Zulu culture for people like me who don’t know about it.” The film presents a captivating and heartfelt portrayal of Zulu culture, beautifully weaving together its traditions, language, music, and vibrant way of life.
Where on one side we have the Khumalo mother and son, who are ready to conquer the world with their “modern” ideas, the Bongi and her daughter are rooted in their culture while still being open-minded.
In Zulu culture, Umemulo is a significant coming-of-age ceremony for young women, marking their transition into adulthood and readiness for marriage. The ceremony, often performed between the ages of 13 and 16, though sometimes extended to 18 in modern settings.
Family Drama
I am a huge fan of family dramas because, at the end of the day, family is all that is left. I love how members of the family come together to spend time together because nobody knows when it will be their last.
Happy Ending
This was the icing on the cake; the happily ever after ending is something I always look forward to in movies, and Meet the Khumalos didn’t fall short.
What didn’t work
The use of the Zulu language in most of the scenes
Though they were subtitled, I do think some stuff is lost in translation in terms of subtitles. We all know how terrible Netflix subtitles are, but it’s not like this makes the movie incomprehensible.
Poor pacing
I did have a slight problem with the pacing of the film as well. It felt like, at the beginning, everything was moving super fast; then in the middle, there was a lot of breathing space for the comedy, I suppose, and then in the end , it felt like everything was being rushed to give us the happy ending we were looking for.
Over-the-top Comedy
The comedy was deliberately loud and exaggerated, with characters reacting in hilariously unrealistic ways to even the simplest situations.
Final Thoughts on Meet The Khumalos
Meet the Khumalos is a romantic family drama with themes of healing, forgiveness, sisterhood, and, most of all, love. Irrespective of the problem with pacing and the over-the-top comedy, the movie is a worthy watch for lovers of romantic comedies.
Rating
I rate this movie 3 out of 5 stars.
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