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S African Indian popcorn seller now cinema boss

A South African Indian's passion for movies has taken him from selling popcorn at a theatre initially barred for the community to the province managing director of the country's largest cinema chain.

While still at school, South African Indian Shaffie Mohamed Ali was determined to work in cinema.

"I used to watch black and white movies and was lost in the magic of the big screen. There was a drive-in cinema near our house, and I got a part-time job there, working weekends selling popcorn."

Ironically, while Ali was allowed to serve the exclusively white customers when he started 25 years ago, his family and other South African Indians were not allowed to watch the movies playing there.

Apartheid legislations of the white minority government at that time strictly segregated all facilities, even cinemas, by race groups.

Today, as general manger of the South African movie giant Ster-Kinekor, Ali oversees more than a dozen cinema complexes across the province.

Knowing fully well there were limited opportunities for South African Indians, Ali persevered selling popcorn, sweets and soft drinks behind the counter, hoping things would change one day.

By the late 1970s, he was entrusted with a managerial position in the snacks stall.

The change he had hoped for happened in the mid 1980s, when Ster-Kinekor decided to open up its cinemas to all race groups in defiance of government policies.

"I think the decision by the then managing director, Philip McDonald, was brilliant," Ali said.

"I remember him saying at one stage in the white-run conservative town of Boksburg - which once imposed a night-time curfew allowing only whites to be on the streets - that he would close the cinema down if they refused to allow all people access to it."

In his new position as general manger of the company for the province, Ali said he accepted that he would find it hard to stay behind a desk after all the hands-on tasks he had been involved in for so many years.

"I made it clear to my seniors that I'm going to try to find a balance between being in the field, implementing strategies and looking ahead for the company."

When Ali joined the industry, the once thriving Bollywood film business in Durban was dying as the advent of video and India's economic boycott of South Africa's apartheid policies took their toll.

Pirated videos of Indian films became the order of the day, and most South African Indian cinemas were converted to shopping malls.

Ali is thrilled at having been one of those who helped revive the industry. Though independent distributors had already started this revival process, Ster-Kinekor did not think it was a viable option till much later.

Ali said: "It started with the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai  a few years ago. We were offered the screening rights and even though Shah Rukh Khan was not a very big star in Durban, we decided to screen the movie."

"It paid exceptionally handsome dividends, grossing more than some of the Western movies we were showing then, and set new records for our company."

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's success led to a revival of interest in Hindi movies at Ster-Kinekor.

After screening a few unsuccessful titles, they re-launched the Indian market in Durban with an extravagant premiere of Lagaan earlier this year and have now established permanent screens for Indian films at some cinema complexes.

Indo-Asian News Service

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