Parrot Film Company
Parrot Film Company was an early Burmese film producer and distributor that grew out of a Rangoon taxi business and made politically and culturally significant films during the colonial period.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Parrot Film Company was one of the early production companies in Burmese cinema. Its origins lay not in filmmaking but in the Parrot Taxi Company, a Rangoon transport business associated with Mr Major Parrot, a British proprietor. The taxi operation imported Morris and Austin vehicles from Great Britain during the early 1920s and established a service in a rapidly changing colonial city. A central figure in the company’s development was U Sunny, a Burmese clerk whom Major Parrot met at a horse-racing course. Impressed by Sunny’s sociability, diligence, and fluency in English, Parrot offered him employment in the taxi business. Sunny eventually became managing director. Under his management, the taxi fleet reportedly expanded from approximately ten vehicles to thirty-five, and the company established a taxi stand near Rangoon’s Strand Hotel. This period gave Sunny practical experience in administration, commercial operations, and customer-facing business management. The economic crisis of the early 1930s transformed the company’s prospects. The Great Depression severely affected Burmese farmers and merchants, while colonial-era rice trading conditions placed additional pressure on local economic life. Rangoon also experienced university unrest and wider farmer and worker disturbances. Major Parrot concluded that the business environment was deteriorating, retired to England, and sold the taxi company to U Sunny for approximately half its earlier value. Sunny attempted to preserve the transport enterprise, but the difficult economic conditions brought it close to bankruptcy. The decisive change came when Sunny saw crowds leaving a cinema and conceived the idea of converting the taxi operation into a film company. His mechanic, U Ba Thar, agreed to serve as a company director. The resulting enterprise became known as the Parrot Film Company and produced roughly fifty-eight films, making it an important participant in the formative period of Burmese commercial cinema. The company’s films frequently combined popular entertainment with social, historical, religious, and nationalist themes. Its first film, Thirty-Six Animals, addressed a gambling system based on thirty-six animal symbols and became a major success. Later productions engaged more directly with Burmese identity and politics. Our Peacock Flag encouraged revolutionary sentiment and was censored. The Golden Peacock Coin promoted renewed interest in Burmese peacock coins associated with the reign of King Thibaw rather than the British currency then in circulation. Another production, Our King and Our Queen and Our Buddha, portrayed King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat and linked the decline of Buddhism to British rule. Although the Film Censorship Board initially approved that film, it later halted public exhibition because of the controversy surrounding its story. Parrot’s twenty-second film, Teacher, starring Ba Chit and Tin May Kalay, was another reported commercial success. In a notable promotional gesture, U Sunny gave books by the writers Mawbi Hsaya Thein and P Moe Nin to audience members attending the film. This indicates that the company’s activities extended beyond film production into literary and cultural promotion. U Sunny operated the company for nearly two decades and became wealthy through the business. After the Second World War, he transferred the company to his son, Ko Pe Kyaing. U Sunny, also referred to in accounts as Parrot U Sunny, died in 1956. The later institutional history of the company is not clearly documented in the available reference material, and the company is treated as defunct rather than as an active contemporary brand.
History
Parrot Film Company emerged from the Parrot Taxi Company, a Rangoon transport enterprise owned by the British businessman Major Parrot. The taxi company imported Morris and Austin automobiles from Britain during the early 1920s. Its later transformation into a film producer was driven by U Sunny, a Burmese employee who first joined the business as a clerk and eventually became managing director. Major Parrot encountered Sunny at a horse-racing course and recruited him from clerical work at a gambling company. Sunny’s English fluency, sociability, and work ethic helped him advance within the taxi operation. During his management, the number of taxis grew from around ten to thirty-five, and a taxi stand was established near the Strand Hotel. These developments made the company more prosperous before the economic crisis of the 1930s. The Great Depression severely affected Burma’s farmers, merchants, and local commercial activity. Low rice prices paid by British companies, together with unrest involving students, farmers, and workers, contributed to an increasingly difficult environment. Major Parrot retired and returned to England, selling the taxi company to Sunny for roughly half its value. Sunny tried to keep the taxi business alive and avoid bankruptcy, but a visit to a cinema produced the idea that would reshape the enterprise: he decided to convert the transport company into a film company. U Ba Thar, who had worked as a mechanic, agreed to become a company director. Parrot Film Company became one of the early organized producers in Burmese cinema and made approximately fifty-eight films. Its output was not limited to neutral entertainment. Thirty-Six Animals, the first production, drew on a popular gambling system involving thirty-six animal symbols and was reported to have been a major hit. Our Peacock Flag addressed political themes and encouraged Burmese revolutionary sentiment, resulting in censorship. The Golden Peacock Coin likewise connected cinema with Burmese historical and national identity by encouraging renewed use or recognition of peacock coins from the reign of King Thibaw despite the circulation of British currency. The company also produced Our King and Our Queen and Our Buddha, with Maung Maung Aye and Khin Khin May portraying King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat. The film presented the monarchy, Buddhism, and the effects of British rule in a politically sensitive manner. The censorship authorities initially approved it but later prevented its exhibition. This reversal illustrates the limits placed on Burmese cultural expression under colonial rule and the extent to which Parrot productions could become objects of official scrutiny. The twenty-second film, Teacher, starred Ba Chit and Tin May Kalay and was another reported hit. U Sunny used screenings as an opportunity for literary promotion, distributing books by Mawbi Hsaya Thein and P Moe Nin to viewers. This practice reflects the company’s place within a broader Burmese cultural environment in which cinema, literature, nationalism, and public education could overlap. U Sunny owned and operated Parrot Film Company for nearly twenty years and accumulated considerable wealth. After the Second World War, he passed the company to his son, Ko Pe Kyaing. U Sunny died in 1956. The surviving account does not establish a precise founding year for either the film company or its predecessor, nor does it provide a complete filmography or a documented closing date. On the available evidence, Parrot Film Company is best understood as a historically important but defunct early Burmese film enterprise.
- 1956
U Sunny died
[1]The company’s long-time owner and operator, U Sunny, died in 1956.
Parrot Taxi Company imported British automobiles
[1]The business that later became the Parrot Film Company began by importing Morris and Austin cars from Great Britain for its Rangoon taxi operation.
The taxi business faced the Great Depression
[1]Economic hardship and political and social unrest placed severe pressure on the taxi operation, while Major Parrot decided to return to England.
U Sunny acquired the taxi company
[1]Major Parrot sold the business to U Sunny at approximately half its value before leaving Burma.
The business entered film production
[1]After seeing cinema audiences, U Sunny converted the struggling taxi enterprise into a film company, with U Ba Thar joining as director.
The company produced approximately fifty-eight films
[1]Parrot Film Company became an early Burmese production operation with an output reported at about fifty-eight films.
Ko Pe Kyaing succeeded U Sunny
[1]U Sunny handed control of the company to his son after the war.
Products and positioning
An early Burmese film company combining commercial popular cinema with Burmese cultural identity, historical memory, religious themes, and anti-colonial or nationalist commentary.
Feature film
Thirty-Six Animals
The company’s first film was based on a Burmese gambling system using thirty-six animal symbols, including animals such as a tiger, horse, mouse, and elephant. It was reported as a major hit and demonstrated the company’s early focus on subjects familiar to Burmese audiences.
Political feature film
Our Peacock Flag
This politically themed production encouraged Burmese revolutionaries. Its nationalist message brought it into conflict with colonial censorship authorities, and the film was censored.
Historical and nationalist feature film
The Golden Peacock Coin
The film promoted Burmese historical identity through the subject of peacock coins associated with King Thibaw’s reign. It encouraged Burmese viewers to value these coins despite the use of British currency under colonial rule.
Historical and religious feature film
Our King and Our Queen and Our Buddha
Starring Maung Maung Aye as King Thibaw and Khin Khin May as Queen Supayalat, the film connected the final Burmese monarchy, Buddhism, and the experience of British rule. Although initially approved by the censorship board, it was later prevented from being shown because of its controversial content.
Feature film
Teacher
The company’s twenty-second film starred Ba Chit and Tin May Kalay and was described as another major hit. U Sunny reportedly distributed books by Mawbi Hsaya Thein and P Moe Nin to people attending screenings, linking the film’s commercial promotion with literary culture.
Brand decisions
- Conversion from taxi operations to film productionStrategy
Background
The taxi business faced severe financial pressure during the Great Depression and was reportedly close to bankruptcy. U Sunny was inspired to change direction after observing large cinema audiences.
Action taken
U Sunny transformed the taxi enterprise into a film company and appointed his mechanic, U Ba Thar, as a company director.
Aftermath
The reoriented business became an early Burmese film producer and reportedly made approximately fifty-eight films.
- Transfer of ownership to Ko Pe KyaingOther
Background
U Sunny had owned and operated the company for nearly two decades.
Action taken
He handed the company to his son, Ko Pe Kyaing.
Aftermath
The available historical account does not provide enough information to establish the company’s later performance or closing date.
Sources1 sources
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