It’s amazing how the movie industry can boost the popularity of a place. Think of Casablanca, or gorgeous Phi Phi Le in Thailand where Leonardo DiCaprio frolicked in The Beach. And imagine how many bachelors descended on Las Vegas to replicate the bad-boy high jinks of The Hangover.
But is it too much to hope a movie filmed in Johannesburg will fling the colourful district of Fordsburg onto the international map? Perhaps it’s a bit of a long shot, but maybe you should head to Fordsburg now before the place is mobbed by camera-toting tourists.
The movie Material will hit the screens later this year and stars local comedian Riaad Moosa. He’s playing a good Muslim boy poised to take over his father’s fabric shop until he discovers a hidden talent for stand-up comedy. It’s almost an entirely local production, with comics Mel Miller, Nic Rabinowitz and Joey Rasdien also among the cast.
Moosa says that visitors keen to explore their own city should head to Fordsburg when they’re hungry. “The restaurants are halaal and the food is great,” he says.
His favourite place is Fordsburg Square on a weekend, where stalls selling eclectic items are crammed in a late-night outdoor shopping zone. “It’s awesome. It’s a world within another world. Mint Road also rocks,” says Moosa.
Mint Road is the heart of the district, which spans several blocks to the west of central Joburg.
It began to flourish when the apartheid government evicted people from the multicultural suburb of Fietas near the city centre. Indian families were relocated to Fordsburg and soon began trading at the now famous Oriental Plaza.
My unofficial tour guide is Faheem Khan, who was a location finder for the movie. “Indian people are good with money – we’re always taught to be streetwise,” he says as we approach the Plaza. “It’s all about bargaining. I wouldn’t say they change their prices that dramatically but if you’re nice to them they’ll give you discount. Everybody here is welcoming because it’s like a tourist attraction.”
We stroll past shops selling jewellery, colourful shoes, massive rolls of material, cheap plastic household goods and enormous beanbag chairs. We push past racks of clothes starting from R40 and inhale the smell of samoosas. In the central section a cluster of men are watching cricket in a TV viewing area.
Several menswear shops are selling high-class suits at prices well below the Northern Suburbs norm. “This is where business is most intense. It’s shopping heaven,” Khan says. “When it comes to clothes Indian men know their labels. They know what’s genuine and they know what’s fake. You’re taught that as a teenager.”
While the Plaza is Fordsburg’s main attraction, it’s worth branching off down the side streets. Khan takes me to his father’s shop, Hamada Goes East, where shelves are stacked with tins of Egyptian and Moroccan food, Asian DVDs, mirrors embedded with images of Mecca, and hubbly bubbly pipes.
We pass halaal butchers and a halaal biltong store, then spot the Kulfi Ice Cream Factory. Individual tubs of Burfee ice cream at R9 each are rich, sweet and incredibly creamy.
Fordsburg’s buildings are a wacky mix of old and new, some glorified by gables, others brightened by gaudy colours, and squat blocks of flats rising above shops on streets flanked with pillars.
There’s life going on everywhere. We stop to watch a man demonstrating a vegetable-grater on a kerbside table. He spots my camera and asks how much I’ll pay to take his photo. Everybody’s out to make a buck, Khan shrugs.
When Material was filmed in March and April the out-of-town actors didn’t stay in any of the small hotels in Fordsburg, but stayed in Melville instead. “They weren’t all Muslim and there are no bars, pubs or restaurants here where you can get a drink,” Khan explains. After a hard day of stop-start-cut filming, you couldn’t blame them for wanting a stress-relieving tipple.
But then we spot a sign to Archie’s Pub around the corner in Lovers’ Walk. Dour Lovers’ Walk must be the most ill-named and least romantic street in the city, and no lovers are canoodling in the dark recess of Archie’s alcoholic hideaway.
The lack of alcohol is one of Fordsburg’s attractions, says Abdeslam Habib-allah Ahmed, chairman of the Migrant Community Board. That means an evening out doesn’t end in rowdy brawls, making it safe for families and keeping the crime rate down.
“There’s no crime because this is a vigilant community with eyes watching everywhere, so people behave themselves,” he says. “If a car guard sees a suspicious vehicle the information circulates to the local shops so quickly security guards will be waiting for the criminals.”
Ahmed is holding court in Milky Lane, one of the numerous food franchises that have colonised the area. It overlooks the Fordsburg Square market, which trades until 11pm at weekends. “The market was started by migrants to empower themselves. The criteria for who got a stall was based on the quality of goods and selling something unique or artistic, not the colour of your face or what your name was.”
There are two reasons to come to Fordsburg, Ahmed says. One is for the food, with restaurants representing many different nationalities. The second reason is to enjoy the cultural mix that always results in something unusual to buy.
The harmonious blend sees shops and restaurants run by Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, Somalis, Malays and Chinese. Most of the 87 stalls in Fordsburg Square are run by foreigners, selling vegetables, shoes, dried fruit, cheap cosmetics and hundreds of DVDs, possibly of dubious origin.
Hany Shaker’s perfume stall sells scents that mimic the famous names without the infamous prices. Yet it’s not only the cost that attracts customers, he says. “Muslim people don’t want any alcohol so these are all oil-based perfumes.”
Do they smell like the real thing? I ask, not sure how his best-selling Black XS, a Paco Rabanne imitation, should smell. “In the beginning they’re a little strong because they’re not mixed with alcohol, but after a while it smells the same,” he promises.
By now it’s the smell of curry, not perfume, that has me salivating, so we head for Al-Mehran restaurant, with Khan raving about its exquisite Bangladeshi dishes.
I devour a tender mutton curry for R57, mopping it up with a large soft naan. Khan goes for a beef sizzler at R55, the house speciality served spitting and sizzling on a metal platter. It’s hotter in temperature than in bite, with an almost sweet and sour sauce.
Another favourite is Usmaniya Tandoori on the corner of Central and Main roads, which serves an impressive buffet for about R40, or R10 more at weekends. It’s a fine way to spice up a theatrical evening, since you can eat your way through perhaps a dozen dishes before a short drive to the Market Theatre in Newtown.
The theatre has retained its proud role as a platform for less mainstream work, so you won’t see Dreamgirls or Evita, but you’ll enjoy some excellent drama in an atmosphere as cosmopolitan as Fordsburg itself. - Sunday Independent
Where to Shop:
The Oriental Plaza is on the corner of Bree and Main streets.
Tel: 011 838 6752.
Open 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday, but closed for prayers from 12-2pm on Fridays. Open 8.30am- 3pm on Saturday, closed on Sundays.
Fordsburg Square: Late night shopping until 11pm on weekends.
Where to Eat:
You won’t go hungry, so let your nose lead you where it fancies. Al-Mehran at 52 Crown Road is popular, or pick from the buffet at Usmaniya Tandoori on the corner of Central and Main roads.
If you really feel the need for pizza, fried chicken or a burger, numerous food franchises have colonised the area.
What to Do:
Soak up the friendly multicultural atmosphere of the district, then take in a show at the Market Theatre. Get there early to grab a drink at the bar, or sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere of vibey Newtown. For show details see www.markettheatre. co.za. 56 Margaret Mcingana Street, just off Bree Street.
Tel: 011 8321641