Jan 10, 2006 02:56 PM
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(Updated Jan 10, 2006 02:56 PM)
Sangeet Cinema
The twin cities, Hyderabad & Secunderabad, boast of having quite a large number of Cinema Halls/Theatres/Movie halls... Sangeet Cinema is one amongst the myriad available options, but is definitely one of the better ones. Sangeet plays mostly English movies; however, now and then, they do play Hindi and Telugu movies.
The tickets are priced at Sangeet - Balcony: Rs.35/- which is extremely reasonable. Advance Booking is also possible, for an extra charge of Rs.5/-
Sangeet may soon get demolished and be transformed into a multiplex is what one gets to hear around...I guess it is true, as when I went there about a few months back, I couldn’t help but observe that the maintenance efforts seem to be minimum and it seemed like little was being invested on new seats, surroundings etc.
I have spent 21 years of my life in Hyderabad and there was a time when I used to visit Sangeet almost every week as they were changing the movies that frequently. I have the most vivid memories of Sangeet. One such crazy time was when there was a cyclone in Andhra Pradesh and half the city was plunged in darkness due to power cuts. But, my elder sister and I insisted that we have to watch Spy Hard as the next day was Friday and the chances of that movie playing for another week were slim. But when we reached Sangeet, no points for guessing, it was shut!:( That was probably the only time when we went to Sangeet and came back disappointed...but, hey, who can fight nature, right?
I hold very dear memories of Sangeet as my school was located right opposite the theatre and every year, we would all be bundled up and led to Sangeet for a movie-they would play Children's movies like ''The Goonies'', ''Jungle Book'', ''Free Willy'' and the like..and we would all squeal with joy and excitement of just crossing the road and walking into Sangeet. And the best part was when the huge curtain in front of the screen would rise at the beginning and all of us would clap and cheer like someone very dear to us has won an Oscar or something... (You can imagine the ''sound'' created by school kids, all girls) But, once the movie started, there would be absolute focus on the screen and the kind of discipline one would find in a classroom. Just thinking of the Cheese/Pudina sandwiches and the masala peanuts there makes my mouth water!
Riviera is a restaurant in the premises of Sangeet. I went there just once. It was ok except that when we asked for soup sticks the waiter brought them in his hand and distributed them to each one of us like we used to distribute candy in school on our birthdays. There's a snack parlour and a juice shop too in the premises. One of the relatively newer additions is the Coffee Day Express Booth in the premises which is quite good.
The best thing about Sangeet is the comfort factor. The sound system is commendable, the crowd which comes in for the movie is good, the choice of movies they play is good (mostly!) - They actually played McKenna's Gold once!!, the snacks available are good. Bottom-line, the overall theatre experience is definitely good. I will not compare this experience to that of a multi-plex like Prasad's Imax as I think that they wouldn't really fall into the same category though broadly they both provide entertainment.
Sangeet may sooner or later become a multi-plex, but the oval-shaped building has definitely drawn several Hyderabadis!!
