From Picture Palace to Bollywood Landmark
The Boleyn Cinema on Barking Road traced over a century of change in Newham. First opened in 1910 as the Boleyn Electric Theatre, it was rebuilt in 1938 by Odeon architect Andrew Mather, with more than 2,000 seats. It remained part of the Odeon circuit until 1981, when the Rank Organisation closed it. The building then stood empty for more than a decade.
In 1995 it was reopened by an independent operator as the Boleyn Cinema, screening films from South Asia. For families in East London this became one of the few places to see the latest releases in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Generations came to watch action epics, romances and comedies, often travelling from across the borough and beyond. At a time when Bollywood and regional cinema had little presence in mainstream outlets, the Boleyn provided access to a rapidly growing cultural industry and gave local communities a space where their languages and stories could be seen on screen.
“I can’t forget that day — Muhammad Rafi sang live on stage, and we watched Junglee. My father was with me. We really enjoyed that; I still remember it.”
Abdul Hakim
In the mid-2010s the stalls were converted to a banqueting hall while the balcony was divided into two smaller screens. The cinema finally closed in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although briefly reopened in 2021, the building was demolished in 2022 following redevelopment plans for housing and retail units.
The Boleyn’s long history, from Edwardian picture palace to Bollywood cinema, reflects both the changing patterns of entertainment in Newham and the significance of film to South Asian communities in the borough.
“Everybody from my generation grew up with Bollywood movies — they were joyful, and it was the only thing we had for culture.”
Sonia Mehta
Oral histories
Abdul Hakim
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Transcript
Cinemas used to be just Indian movies. There were very old films like Dalib Kumas, which is really nice film. Tangewala, really enjoyable. And sometimes they used to get music people coming in. You know who? People used to sing? Singers used to come from Pakistan, and they used to come in these cinemas. And you see, they used to have a special show, and I used to go with my father and listen to them. It was really enjoyable. Muhammad Rafi came so many others, so many singers came even qawwali. Qawwali, I used to like. We used to go whenever they visited in England, especially in Newham. And we used to go and listen to them. Normally, they used to come in cinemas where the cinema is. Used to be a cinema in Barking Road. They used to come there and Green Street.