Nomsa Buthelezi: Every township has a hero like Super Mama, maybe just without the cape!

Imagine you're scared to death in the middle of Alexander and as some thugs try to snatch your handbag, then the mama you thought only sold tomatoes by the corner comes to your defence with major Jackie Chan style kung fu?

That would be crazy but amazing right?

Well, Nomsa Buthelezi had the chance to play a township hero, in the comedy Super Mama. 

"I loved making this film and I enjoyed it because I know for a fact that ordinary women are heroes every elokshini (townships). The woman I play is a special superhero, she knows martial arts and kung fu, like all the moves and starts using it to help people. She's a woman who is tired of crime in Alex and she does something about it."

She told TshisaLIVE about the crazy fun she had becoming the township superhero and that in fact it was the training to become this character that helped her fight off men who attempted to rape her last year.

Nomsa said the martial arts training she had been doing for a film, Super Mama, came in  very handy for her.

"The time this incident happened, I was busy doing martial art classes for the film," she said.

The film was shot completely in Johannesburg and also stars people such as Micheal Mabitzela and Desmond Dube.

In the film, Doris, an ordinary yet stubborn woman from Alexandra meets a mysterious kung fu master Mr. Hung. He helps her turn herself into an unconventional superhero but as most superhero stories go, she's exposed and her fame endangers her loved ones.

Nomsa said as an actress, she has grown immensely and was looking forward to growing even more. She also said that more than helping save her life, doing the film also reinforced in her the believe that all women are heroes in their own right.

"Sometimes we doubt ourselves as women that we have the inner strength to fight. Men think they can do whatever they want with us and on us, but actually we can fight. We are more powerful than we can ever imagine. Besides, the things we do on a daily basis as mothers, sisters and just caretakers... that is what heroes do. Every township has a hero like Super Mama, maybe just without the cape." 

The film was screened at the Durban International Film Festival earlier this year and Nomsa said it will be available later this year through NuMetro.