Tirai Dibuka untuk Pawagam Klasik Kuala Lumpur - On the Radar

Curtains Up on KL’s Grand Old Cinemas
ANN MARIE CHANDY | 22 May 2025

Coliseum Cinema still stands on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman today and is the longest running cinema in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Ann Marie Chandy

LONG before streaming on your TV, before cineplexes took over, and before snacks and movie tickets could be ordered with a tap on your phone, going to the movies was quite an event … even right here at Kuala Lumpur’s standalone cinemas – magnificent, single-screen temples of dreams that fed the imaginations of generations.

While many of these places have dimmed their lights for good, a few are still standing – Odeon, Coliseum and Rex (now reimagined as REXKL) – reminders of a time when the cinema wasn’t just something you did on the weekend. It was the weekend.
Movie buff Davin Arul has many fond memories of going to the cinema with his parents and grandpa back in the day when tickets were as cheap as 60 cents! Photo: Facebook
For veteran journalist/film critic Davin Arul, the magic of old cinemas lives on in the crackle of kuaci underfoot, the pungent perfume of tauhu bakar, and the dimming of lights that signalled the beginning of cinematic escape. He recalls sneaking into early matinees, enduring itchy bug bites, and being swept away by movies like Goldfinger, Dracula, or Shaw Brothers’ latest kung fu epic.

Davin says: “My parents and grandfather shaped my moviegoing habits. We regularly went to cinemas like Cathay and Pavilion on Jalan Bukit Bintang, Rex a short hop away, the Odeon on Batu Road, and occasionally Federal and Capitol in the Chow Kit area.”

There was a ritual to it all. You knew your cinema, your seat, your snack. He reminisces: “The theatres were divided into ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ (balcony seating and the general hall). Downstairs was usually divided into three: the frontmost block were the cheapest seats, 60 to 80 cents; the middle block cost RM1.25 while the back section furthest from the screen was RM1.60 to RM1.80. The literally ‘atas’ seats cost RM2.30.

“Wherever we sat, though, the feeling when the lights dimmed and the adverts and trailers started was just ... magical to a little kid, and that thrill of being immersed briefly in an alternate reality has largely stayed with me for over 50 years.”

For Davin, standalone cinemas were self-contained dream factories and snack bars. “You could buy anything from sotong kering to asam boi to prawn keropok to Rowntrees fruit pastilles, Mars bars and Treets (anyone remember those?) from the stalls outside or at the in-house concession stands. Unlike today, there was no restriction on bringing ‘outside food’ inside. Night shows, especially, were like watching a movie in ‘Odorama’,” he jests. “With all those aromas of different foodstuffs wafting around.

While the movies were a draw, the buildings themselves held just as much magic.
Gary Yeow has a penchant for old buildings and wishes more will be done to document their histories. Photo: Gary Yeow
Gary Yeow, designer and lecturer, reminds us that cinemas (or theatres, as they were called back then) weren’t just places to catch a flick – they were architectural statements. Think Art Deco with local infusions. From Odeon’s fancy flagpole-and-columns to Rex’s post-war practical chic, these buildings weren’t just functional. Back then, a big, air-conditioned cinema with neon lights and double-storey seating was a communal flex – a sign that cities were rich, and its townsfolk, modern and cultured.

“Architecture is a byproduct of economy,” says Yeow, which explains why these glorious facades rose when cities had cash and ambition to spare. Designing and building cinemas required not just vision but also financial muscle. You didn’t just put up any old building and call it a cinema. You hired an architect. You paid craftsmen. You invested in dreams.
Old cinemas like Madras and Cathay from a different era. Photos: Facebook (Caleb Goh + Malaysia Old Times)
Many will still remember names like Cathay, Rex, Federal, Pavilion, Majestic, Coliseum, Odeon, Madras and Capitol. Yeow believes these buildings held stories longing to be told – and wishes more had been done and will be done to document these tales before its too late.

Some, like Madras (which screened mostly Chinese movies! and would have stood somewhere near the Pasar Seni LRT station today), he says, hinted at deeper cross-cultural ties … and was possibly named after a spiritual figure from South India, a nod to solidarity and friendship across borders.

The Majestic in Pudu is long gone, demolished in 2006, but during its heyday stood as a strategic hotspot. In its place today stands D'Majestic Place hotel.

Once beloved Rex, rebuilt post-war by Booty, Edwards & Partners (BEP), has been reborn into REXKL, a cinema-turned-hub where the ghost of kuaci past meets the designer coffees of the present.

Coliseum, that regal survivor on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, is still screening movies today as Lotus Five Star (LFS) Cinemas – Malaysia’s oldest cinema (a grand 105 this year!) and still going strong! Just down the road, Odeon also still stands tall, though its projectors have long gone quiet.

These cinemas were more than just movie halls or architectural landmarks – they were communal havens, woven into the everyday tapestry of city life.
Kamil Othman fondly remembers watching movies with his classmates as far back as primary school, and still has a collection of newspaper advertisements from yesteryears tucked away in a treasured scrapbook. Photos: FB + Kamil Othman
As Kamil Othman, former FINAS chairman and cinephile, recalls: ‘Cathay was the spot when I was a kid – Bukit Bintang was buzzing back then even without skyscrapers. Cinemas were our community hubs.

“We didn’t just watch James Bond – we became Bond. Whole classrooms would go, and we’d spend days talking about and re-enacting scenes from the movie. It brought everyone together – Malay, Chinese, Indian – no matter what race.

Cinemas were also our window to the world. “Hollywood became our teacher – and to a certain extent our brainwasher! I thought the ‘Red Indians’ were the bad guys because of Cowboy movies,” Kamil says. “It wasn’t until secondary school, when we learned about Wounded Knee, that we realised how unfair the portrayal of Native Americans was. Then came the movie Soldier Blue (1970 American revisionist Western by Ralph Nelson), which flipped everything.”

Kamil remembers watching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly while he was still in Form 3. “The queue was so long we had to buy tickets from scalpers. Seven ringgit! That was a king’s ransom! Could we afford it? Well, not really. That’s why we’d always bring an older cousin or an uncle.

“And that’s how I ended up watching Chinese and Hindustani films. My aunty used to drag us along. Actually, we were her alibi so she could go on dates. We got to watch Bobby, Haathi Mere Saathi – and eat KFC across the road after!”

While it wasn’t exactly frowned upon to go to the movies, Kamil says he wasn’t allowed to go as often as he wanted to, which made him resort to telling a few white lies. “I had to tell my mother I was going to the library. Which… technically wasn’t a lie. The cinema was, after all, my reference library!”

Even as times change, these memories linger – friends bonding, family outings and shared laughter. Those old cinemas weren’t just buildings; they were memory machines that gave generations their first glimpse into the wider world.

So why not catch a film at Coliseum? Snap a selfie outside the Odeon … or wander into REXKL to explore its new lease on life. The buildings may be old, but the memories? They’re always “coming soon”.
The Art Deco inspired Odeon Cinema on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, then and now. Photos: Facebook + Ann Marie Chandy
Tirai Dibuka untuk Pawagam Klasik Kuala Lumpur
ANN MARIE CHANDY | 22 May 2025

Coliseum Cinema masih berdiri megah di Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman hingga hari ini dan merupakan pawagam yang paling lama beroperasi di Kuala Lumpur. Foto: Ann Marie Chandy

SEBELUM wujudnya tayangan filem secara strim di televisyen rumah, sebelum kelahiran Cineplex dan zaman anda boleh beli makanan ringan dan tiket wayang menggunakan aplikasi mudah alih, menonton wayang adalah sesuatu yang ‘in’ pada ketika itu. Ini termasuk pawagam tunggal di Kuala Lumpur – bangunan satu skrin yang menjadi ruang membakar imaginasi pelbagai generasi.

Walaupun kebanyakan pawagam ini telah melabuhkan tirai buat selama-lamanya, namun masih ada beberapa yang terus bertahan – Odeon, Coliseum dan Rex (kini diberi nafas baru sebagai REXKL) – mengingatkan kembali zaman di mana menonton wayang bukan sekadar aktiviti hujung minggu. Tetapi Ia adalah ‘hujung minggu’ itu sendiri.
Peminat filem, Davin Arul, menyimpan banyak kenangan manis menonton wayang bersama ibu bapa dan datuknya pada zaman tiket hanya berharga 60 sen! Foto: Facebook
Bagi wartawan dan pengkritik filem veteran, Davin Arul, keajaiban pawagam lama masih hidup dalam bunyi kuaci yang dipijak, aroma kuat tauhu bakar, dan suasana malap yang menandakan permulaan bagi anda hanyut dalam sinematik. Dia teringat pengalaman menyelinap masuk ke tayangan pagi, menahan gigitan serangga yang gatal, dan di bawa hanyut dalam filem seperti Goldfinger, Dracula, atau cerita kung fu epik terbaru dari Shaw Brothers.

Kata Davin: "Ibu bapa saya dan datuk banyak mempengaruhi saya dalam menonton wayang. Kami sering ke pawagam seperti Cathay dan Pavilion di Jalan Bukit Bintang, Rex yang terletak berdekatan, Odeon di Batu Road, dan sekali-sekala ke Federal serta Capitol di kawasan Chow Kit."

Dia mempunyai ritual yang tersendiri. Anda tahu pawagam anda, tempat duduk, dan makanan ringan yang menjadi pilihan. Dia terkenang: "Pawagam ketika itu dibahagikan kepada 'tingkat atas' dan 'tingkat bawah' (ruang balkoni dan dewan utama). Di tingkat bawah, biasanya ada tiga bahagian: blok paling depan merupakan tempat duduk paling murah, 60 hingga 80 sen; bahagian tengah berharga RM1.25 manakala bahagian belakang – paling jauh dari skrin – berharga RM1.60 hingga RM1.80. Tempat duduk ‘atas’ pula berharga RM2.30.

"Di mana pun kami duduk, saat lampu mulai malap dan iklan serta treler mula ditayangkan – ia adalah sesuatu yang benar-benar menakjubkan bagi seorang kanak-kanak, perasaan tenggelam dalam keterujaan realiti alternatif itu masih kekal dalam diri saya selama lebih 50 tahun.”

Bagi Davin, pawagam begini ibarat kilang mimpi dan gerai snek yang lengkap dalam satu tempat. "Anda boleh beli apa sahaja – dari sotong kering ke asam boi, keropok udang, hinggalah ke gula-gula Rowntrees fruit pastilles, coklat Mars dan Treets (ada yang ingat tak?). Semuanya dijual di gerai luar atau kaunter dalam pawagam. Tak seperti sekarang, dulu tak ada larangan bawa ‘makanan luar’ masuk ke pawagam.

Tayangan malam pula – memang terasa seperti menonton filem dalam versi ‘Odorama’ dengan pelbagai bau makanan yang memenuhi udara."
Gary Yeow amat meminati bangunan lama dan berharap lebih banyak usaha akan dilakukan untuk mendokumentasikan sejarahnya. Foto: Gary Yeow
Gary Yeow, seorang pereka bentuk dan pensyarah, mengingatkan kita bahawa pawagam (atau teater, seperti yang dipanggil dahulu) bukan sekadar tempat menonton filem – ia merupakan satu kemegahan seni bina. Bayangkan gaya hiasan seni Art Deco dengan sentuhan tempatan. Daripada tiang serta tiang bendera di Odeon hinggalah gaya praktikal pasca-perang Rex, bangunan-bangunan ini bukan sekadar berdiri dengan berfungsinya. Pada waktu itu, sebuah pawagam besar yang berhawa dingin, dengan lampu neon dan tempat duduk dua tingkat adalah satu simbol kekayaan and kebanggaan komuniti – cara orang bandar menunjukkan bahawa mereka moden dan berbudaya.

"Seni bina adalah hasil sampingan ekonomi," kata Yeow, yang menjelaskan kenapa fasad bangunan yang megah ini dibina ketika bandar-bandar mempunyai dana dan impian yang tinggi. Mereka bentuk dan membina pawagam memerlukan bukan sekadar visi, tetapi juga kekuatan kewangan. Anda tak boleh sewenang-wenangnya membina bangunan biasa dan menamakannya pawagam. Anda perlu mengupah arkitek. Membayar tukang yang mahir. Anda melabur untuk bermimpi.
Pawagam lama seperti Madras dan Cathay berasal dari zaman yang berbeza. Foto: Facebook (Caleb Goh + Malaysia Old Times)
Ramai yang masih ingat nama-nama seperti Cathay, Rex, Federal, Pavilion, Majestic, Coliseum, Odeon, Madras dan Capitol. Yeow percaya bangunan-bangunan ini menyimpan kisah yang menunggu untuk diceritakan – dan dia berharap lebih banyak usaha dilakukan (dan akan dilakukan) untuk mendokumentasikan sejarahnya sebelum semua kisah ini lenyap ditelan zaman.

Sebahagian pawagam, seperti Madras (yang kebanyakannya menayangkan filem-filem Cina dan dipercayai terletak berhampiran kawasan stesen LRT Pasar Seni hari ini) memberi petunjuk kepada hubungan silang budaya yang lebih mendalam … dan mungkin dinamakan sempena tokoh spiritual dari India Selatan, sebagai simbol solidariti dan persahabatan merentas sempadan.

Majestic di Pudu pula sudah lama tiada, dirobohkan pada tahun 2006, namun pada zaman kemuncaknya, ia merupakan lokasi strategik. Kini, tapaknya digantikan oleh Hotel D’Majestic Place.

Rex telah dibina semula selepas perang oleh firma Booty Edwards & Partners (BEP), dan pernah menjadi kegemaran ramai. Hari ini, RexKL telah dibuka semula sebagai ruang budaya dan kreatif – sebuah pawagam yang berubah wajah menjadi hab seni, di mana roh kuaci lama bertemu kopi designer masa kini.

Coliseum, masih megah yang masih berdiri di Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, masih setia menayangkan filem di bawah rangkaian Lotus Five star (LFS) Cinemas – pawagam tertua di Malaysia (mencapai usia 105 tahun tahun ini!) dan masih terus bertahan! Tidak jauh dari situ, Odeon juga masih teguh berdiri, meskipun projektornya telah lama tidak berfungsi.

Pawagam ini bukan sekadar dewan tayangan atau mercu seni bina – ia adalah tempat perlindungan komuniti, yang menjadi sebahagian daripada kehidupan harian di bandar.
Kamil Othman masih mengingati detik-detik menonton wayang bersama rakan sekelasnya sejak zaman sekolah rendah, dan masih menyimpan koleksi iklan pawagam lama dalam sebuah buku skrap yang amat dihargainya. Foto: FB + Kamil Othman
Seperti yang dikenang oleh Kamil Othman, bekas pengerusi FINAS dan kaki wayang: "Cathay adalah tempat wajib waktu saya kecil – Bukit Bintang memang dah meriah pada masa tu walaupun belum ada pencakar langit lagi. Pawagam adalah pusat komuniti kami."

"Kita bukan sekadar menonton James Bond – kita ‘jadi’ Bond selepas tu! Satu kelas pergi tengok, dan lepas tu berhari-hari kami bercerita dan lakon semula babak dari filem tu. Ia satukan semua orang – Melayu, Cina, India – semua tak kira bangsa."

Pawagam memang ibarat jendela ke dunia luar. "Hollywood adalah guru kami – dan juga pencuci otak kami! Saya ingatkan dulu Orang Asli Amerika (‘Red Indians’) tu jahat sebab filem koboi," kata Kamil sambil ketawa.

"Hanya bila masuk sekolah menengah dan belajar tentang peristiwa Wounded Knee, barulah kami sedar betapa berat sebelahnya gambaran tu. Lepas tu keluar filem Soldier Blue (filem revisionis Western tahun 1970 oleh Ralph Nelson), terus terbalik pandangan kami."

Kamil masih ingat menonton The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ketika beliau di Tingkatan 3. "Barisan panjang gila, sampai kami terpaksa beli tiket dari ulat tiket. Tujuh ringgit! Macam harga emas masa tu! Mampu ke?

Sebenarnya tak. Sebab tu kami selalu bawa sepupu yang lebih tua atau pakcik sekali.

"Dari situlah saya mula tengok filem Cina dan filem Hindustan juga. Makcik saya suka ajak kami ikut. Sebenarnya, kami jadi ‘alasan’ dia nak keluar dating. Tapi kami yang untung – dapat tengok Bobby, Haathi Mere Saathi – dan makan KFC seberang jalan lepas tu!"

Walaupun menonton filem bukanlah satu perkara yang dilarang, Kamil kata dia tidak dibenarkan pergi sesuka hati, jadi kenalah ‘pandai-pandai’. "Saya kena beritahu mak saya yang saya nak pergi perpustakaan. Yang... secara teknikalnya tak salah pun. Sebab pawagam tu memang ‘perpustakaan rujukan’ saya!"

Walaupun zaman berubah, kenangan itu tetap melekat di ingatan – persahabatan yang terjalin, kekeluargaan yang erat, dan tawa yang dikongsi bersama. Pawagam lama itu bukan sekadar bangunan; ia adalah mesin kenangan yang memberi generasi terdahulu pandangan pertama mereka terhadap dunia yang lebih luas.

Jadi, apa kata tonton satu filem di Coliseum? Ambil swafoto di luar Odeon … atau masuk ke REXKL dan alami nafas baharunya. Bangunannya mungkin lama, tapi memorinya? Sentiasa akan “akan datang”.
Pawagam Odeon yang berinspirasikan gaya Art Deco di Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, dahulu dan sekarang. Foto: Facebook + Ann Marie Chandy

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