I wonder why nobody reviewed Sangeet Cinema as yet....Let me have the honor of being the first.
Sangeet has been a venerable institution for all cinema buffs in Hyderabad for about 35 years. ever since it opened in the late 60s, it has been screening the best of Hollywood and off-beat Bollywood offerings (since 90s it has been screening few selected mainstream Hindi and Telugu blockbusters occasionally). There is hardly a college student since 3 generations who havent bunked class to catch the latest English offering at Sangeet. Its name is synonymous with quality entertainment for all ages.
Sangeet is a big old-school single screen cinema. Currently it seats about 800 people and the tickets are highly affordable: currently Rs. 35/- being the highest for the balcony.
Sangeet is well known for its giant deep curved 70mm screen that provides an unmatched visual experience esp for epics and adventures like ’’Ben Hur’’ and ’’10 Commandments’’ to ’’Gladiator’’ and ’’Titanic’’ (Titanic and Jurassic Park ran in Sangeet for more than 100 days, with all shows sold out in advance for first 50 days or so!)
Sangeet has always brought the best in cinema technology right from the beginning and was the among the first in South India to be a part of the Digital sound revolution in the 90s. even before Digital sound came here, Sangeet’s old analog stereo sound was excellent in terms of sound quality. This was also the first theater in south to acquire Xenon lamp projection system a few years ago. The air conditioning is very comfortable too.
There is a decent sized car parking for abt 30-40 cars (which is sufficient for a single screen cinema) and enough parking for two-wheelers.
Ticket booking can be done by telephone too, with a surcharge of 5/- per ticket.
Sangeet also has a music shop, a paratha roll stall, a fast food center, a coffee day express stall and a multi cuisine restaurant in its spacious compound.
The staff are very courteous and polite. they are known to promptly return any lost valuables found in the hall. they are also very helpful in answering any enquiries abt ticket availability. If enough tickets are available they even advice telephone callers not to bother with ’phone booking and to come collect the tickets from the box office so that they can save 5/- surcharge...!!!
Cons:
1) The biggest Con is its seating. There is less leg space and the seats with wooden arm rests pale in comparision to the latest upholstered seats with cup holders.
2) The next one is its stamp sized ’standing-room-only’ lobby. The crowds in the interval have no option but to step outside the lobby.
The latest news is that Sangeet is to be demolished in a few months to make way for a huge multiplex and entertainment center. to me, this is both good news and bad. Good coz we can have more entertainment options in future and bad coz we are losing a venerable landmark and a symbol of a leisurely lifestyle belonging to another era.