A Hardcore Movie Fan

By Nyan Yel Yint Win

 

 

During the golden time of Burmese Films, there was a multi-talented hugely famous heart throb of the nation. His name was Win Oo. In his times, he was extremely well-known and well-liked. Win Oo was talented in Film, Music, Theater and Literature, thus gaining him the name “Jack of all trades Artist”.

 

“Jack of All trades Artist” Win Oo

 

Before social media, film and theater were the biggest entertainment for the public. The ‘influencers’ of the old days were the stars in films and on theatre.

Film Hobbyists Association “Star’s Fan Club” Member Card

 

Would you like to know about a hardcore fan of Win Oo and his collections?

Ko Maung Maung Hla

 

His name is Ko Maung Maung Hla. His friends call him in short “Ko Hla”. Ko Hla is a collector and a film hobbyist.

Collection of Win Oo postcards by Ko Hla

 

As a film hobbyist, Ko Hla gathered film posters and actors and actresses’ photos and postcards, and pamphlets. Of all these actors and actresses, his favourite was Win Oo. We can see how much Ko Hla was obsessed with Win Oo by his collection. Let’s take a look.

Songbooks for famous songs by Win Oo
Newspaper snippets of Win Oo Photos and Win Oo news Ko Hla cut out from local newspapers
A photo of Win Oo with his signature
A torn and collected cover photo of “Yote Shin Thit” (New Film) Magazine featuring Win Oo
A painting of Win Oo that Ko Maung Maung Hla drew himself in the 1960s
Ko Maung Maung Hla together with Win Oo at a musical theater show, circa 1980s

2020 is the year Myanmar Film Industry becomes 100 years old and I wanted to commemorate this by sharing a story of a film hobbyist and his collection in this article.

 

 

Nyan Yel Yint Win is a history enthusiast and an avid collector. He has a collection of over 400 historical images of Myanmar, clothings, documents and rare magazines. Nyan loves to tell stories through his collection. His current collection mostly come from his neighbours who live besides his house and he is aiming to collect some more items from an acquaintance Grandpa who is still refusing to give Nyan his photos and some vintage objects.