The Regal - a 'fast' and furious' place...

 Edward Rodwell's article :a 'fast' and furious' place...

This article appeared in The Standard on Sept 27th 1985, days after Regal Cinema, Mombasa was destroyed by a fire...almost 38 years ago!!

50 years ago, you could see a film for shs1!! Business was tough in the early years. Sometimes half a dozen patrons showed up. If there were less the show was cancelled!! If you liked a 'short' you could yell to the operator to play it again!!

Interestingly my dad added a comment on the left that H G Robertson was their manager and not a lessee. H G Robertson was a one-time editor of Mombasa Times.

Enjoy the read!

Kenya Box Office Collection Rankings Jan-June 1981

 for both English and Indian films

notice with VHS pirating in 1981 the only Indian cinema to be in the top 10 was Globe Cinema!!

Regal Theatre, Mombasa colorized photo - around 1930s/1940s

 

The Regal Theatre owners that had a road named after them!!

 Who knew!! I just discovered that in fact there was a road in Nairobi called Valli Hasham Road in the early 1960s. It extended from Grogan Road to Cross Road. See screenshots of a copy of the 1965 Kenya Gazette below.

Valli Hasham & Co owned the Regal Theatre in Mombasa in the early 1930s. The company was an importer and wholesaler of goods in Kenya from the beginning of the 20th Century.

The 2 brothers that started the company were Valli Hasham (1885-1937) and Janmohamed Hasham (1885-1931) (see photos below).

I came across this description of Valli Hasham: He opened Kenya to Indian trade and immigration. He helped many families settle all over Kenya. He was considered a pioneer and was the leader of the Ismaili and other Indian communities. He died in Nairobi July of 1937.Valli Hasham Road was named in his honor

Photos:

top photo: Valli Hasam

next photo: Janmohamed Hasham with the Governor of Kenya (1930s)

bottom2 photos: Kenya Gazette

    

    

                                                                                

The Link between Regal Theatre & State House, Bamburi.

I came across some fascinating history that I never knew! Can you guess where the photo below was taken??

The year is 1948. The setting is Bamburi, Mombasa. Those seated include some of the owners of Regal Theatre, Mombasa.

One of them (2nd left) was Sultan Valli Hasham. At the time of Uhuru, Sultan Valli Hasham was the president of the Aga Khan National Council. The 2nd photo below shows him getting a moment to welcome Jomo Kenyatta at Embakasi Airport when the delegation returned from the UK after the Lancaster House talks. You can see Dr Njoroge Mungai amongst others in the photo.

Well back to the Bamburi property in the photo below. It turns out that this property was presented to Jomo Kenyatta as a gift on Kenya gaining Uhuru. In the 1970s this property used to form part of State House Bamburi, but was in fact Kenyatta's private property. Now you know what State House, Bamburi looked like in the 1940's!!