Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The day in 1986 when 20th Century Fox sold its Cinemas in Nairobi

Fox Theatres (E.A.) Ltd owned the 3 big cinemas in Nairobi. We have all been to them! These were the magnificent Kenya Cinema, 20th Century Cinema and Thika Fox Drive-In. Kenyans were entertained to the latest Hollywood movies in world class cinemas for more than 35 years!!  

Well, all good things come to an end. Internationally 20th Century Fox changed hands in 1985. Rupert Murdoch had purchased the company from Marvin Davis for around US $430 million!  

A decision was made to sell Fox Theatres (E.A.) Ltd. The business including the properties were valued around Shs 32 million. An offer was accepted at Shs 29 million in 1986. At the time this was roughly equal to US $1.8 million representing less than 1% of 20th Century Fox’s assets. But for Kenya the sale was a big deal.  

The deal did not sit well with some members of parliament. In parliament they chastised the government for allowing scarce foreign currency generated from exports of coffee to pay the seller 20th Century Fox! The government argued that it was good for the company to be owned by Kenyans as foreign expertise was not essential to operate these cinemas.  

Even more telling were the MPs' accusations that scarce US$ was provided to the buyer, an individual Mr S.H. Alibhai. Could the MPs' be referring to the same Mr Alibhai that partnered with Moi in various ventures including Marshalls? The assistant minister of Finance stood up in parliament and refuted that Mr Alibhai was the buyer. He said in fact US$ was provided to a private Kenyan company by the name of Piccadilly to purchase the assets.   It is another story as to who the buyers were and what happened to the cinemas as the years went by!!  

Interestingly the sale also included the movie distribution arm managed by Anglo American Film Distributors. Readers will recall in a previous post that barely 20 years ago, (in 1968) the government wanted the Kenya Film Corporation, a state-owned company to be the sole movie distributor in Kenya. KFC relented after 20th Century Fox closed its cinemas in protest for months refusing to give up its movie distribution segment. Well, in 1986 KFC was effectively shut out of the 20th Century Fox sale. By 1995 KFC was insolvent and there was no government bailout. But that too is another story!! 

(Ref: Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard) Sep 30 - Dec 11, 1986) 



Sunday, May 22, 2022

Cinemas in Kenya and its role in enriching the Indian culture and vice versa Contributory article by: Ojwang Plante Okula, Bachelors (Education Arts) History, Moi University


The Indian population had grown in most parts of the country by the 1930s. This was especially the case in towns like Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa.
The Indian community had a huge role in shaping up the cinema industry across East Africa right from Mombasa to the streets of the Clove Island (Zanzibar). There were many reasons for this.
Indian movies provided an escape from the day to day working life. The movies were entertaining as the movies provided lots of dance scenes. The key heartthrob actors lip synched the latest songs by popular singers. The movies held everyone’s attention whether it was a comedy, action or a sad story.
The popularity of Indian movies from the 1930s onwards can also be understood given this was the era of no Television, VHS or DVDs. The only other form of entertainment were live Indian shows.
The Indian movies also provided avenues for getting up-to-date with the latest fashion and trends as men and women tried emulating fashion trends from their stars in the films. When the famous film star Sharmila Tagore wore a revealing swimsuit in the 1967 film 'An Evening in Paris', she opened the door for many Indian women to go swimming without covering themselves fully!!
Watching Indian movies was one more way of keeping in touch with their indigenous culture as the Indians who had settled in East Africa had started to lose touch with their motherland given that it was expensive to travel to and from their motherland.
As the years went by, first-generation Indians born in Kenya had one further way to maintain and learn their culture, customs and tradition by going to see an Indian movie. The movies acted as custodians and stewards of the Indian beliefs and practices. Almost all the movies were in Hindi, and this was one more benefit of watching Indian movies as it allowed first generation Indians to maintain their parents' language.
Indian movies allowed all Indians to maintain and enhance their sense of identity given an ever changing local cultural and political landscape.
The cinemas actually offered much more than entertainment and culture. There were like temples, mosques or churches. They acted as meeting points for the Indian community. The shows actually became family bonding events. One author actually quoted that cinema were not lifeless chunks of brick and mortar. They resonated with soul and spirit. This is where you mingled with others. The cinemas were places that gave individual lives meaning, and spaces that gave a town emotional life. Across generations, cinemas were central to community formation.
So, and for example, on a typical Sunday evening a lot of Indians would throng the Globe Cinema. This was considered a 'posh' cinema because of its luxurious seats, excellent acoustics and projection. As journalist Kul Bushan quoted, ‘perched on a hillock overlooking the Ngara roundabout, the Globe became the first choice for cinemagoers for new Indian releases as it became the venue to ogle and be ogled by the old and the young.’ Such was the appeal of the Globe Cinema, that it is was here in the heydays of the popularity of Indian movies and in the heydays of KANU, that President Daniel Arap Moi was convinced to hold fundraisers for various national projects including the building of the Armed Forces Memorial Hospital.

Saturday, May 7, 2022

The day in 1931 when Regal Theatre, Mombasa screened the first Indian movie with sound ALAM ARA and the story behind it...!!

The day in 1931 when Regal Theatre, Mombasa screened the first Indian movie with sound ALAM ARA and the story behind it...!!

(from the book: Jambo, Samji Kala!, The Life and Times of Mohanlal Kala Savani)
The Regal Theatre opened in Mombasa in 1931. It was built and operated by 2 brothers Valli Hasham and Janmohamed Hasham. Regal showed English movies and at other times rented the space for live plays and performances. The clientele was mainly British expatriates.
In the same year, India produced the first 'talkie' Alam Ara. It starred Master Vithal and Zubeida. Mohanlal Samji Kala acquired the distribution rights and imported this movie. This was before he constructed the Majestic and Kenya cinemas in Mombasa. He therefore rented showtimes at the newly opened Regal Cinema to exhibit the movie. The rest is history......
Interestingly no print of Alam Ara exists today. Unfortunately, the last print of this movie was reportedly destroyed in a fire at the National Archives of India in Pune.

Liberty Cinema, Nairobi

This was once a well known Indian cinema. By 1983 Indian films were replaced by English films. It closed down by 2002. Initially it was mana...