An ace in showing movies

MEET YOUR ENTREPRENEUR

It is not often that one comes across an entrepreneur who is a champion in more than one area. This is the case with 62-year-old S S Misra, the proprietor of Sangeet Cinema, which for the last three decades has entertained number of people of the twin cities.

Apart from managing the theatre, he was also an ace tennis player and has represented India.

"Our family was into sports and my father encouraged us a lot. My brother, S P Misra, played tennis for the country and represented the country at the Davis Cup. I was the tennis captain of the Indian team at World University games held at Tokyo in 1967," recalls Misra.

Speaking about how the interest grew in the game, Misra said, "We used to be ball boys when my father and his cousins used to play at the club. Slowly, we started to emulate them and learnt the game. During those days though it was very expensive my father always encouraged us to play," Misra said.

It was a love story, Alif Laila, which made him split his interest into running a theatre and also play tennis. "My father's first project was a cinema house which he built in 1952 at Chaderghat called Kamal Talkies. This project was very successful and I got interested and dreamed of owning a theatre some day," Misra said.

"Looking at the success of Kamal Talkies, my father built another theatre called Basant Cinema in 1963. But then he sold both his theatres and built the Natraj Theatre in Secunderabad," he added.

"But then one day, a friend of ours told my father that somebody was interested in buying the theatre. To this offer my dad replied in the negative but then he told my father to quote a very high price so that he would refuse it and both the parties could go back contented. My father did exactly the same, but then to everyone's surprise the person agreed and the deal was made on the lawns of the tennis courts," Misra said.

"But then a year later in 1968, we identified a plot of land which belonged to Chennai-based Indian Cable Company. After a lot of persuasion we could get the land on a 40-year lease basis for construction of a theatre. The company was very apprehensive to give us the land as they thought the idea was not economically viable and were concerned on the returns," he said.

Finally the construction of Sangeet Cinema began on June 7, 1969. "This day will always be memorable as I was there when the first tile was put in place. The first movie that was screened here was 'Camelot' produced by Warner Brothers," Misra recalls.

His association with English production houses in Mumbai helped in getting quality English movies to town. "When I told my father that we would have an exclusive theatre that would run only English movies, he was a bit apprehensive as no one had tried this experiment before," Misra said.

Today, after over three decades, an era might be coming to an end. "I dread the idea that sometime this year the theatre would be pulled down to build a multiplex," Misra said.

"We are in talks with financial institutions and are also open for a joint venture for the construction of the four-floor, five-screen multiplex. The total cost of the project would be around Rs 20-22 crore. The idea is to have a five-screen theatre where the minimum capacity would be 180 and the maximum around 500 seats," Misra said.

Another interesting aspect about this entrepreneur is that though he brings the latest technology to his audience, he does not believe in the same. "Many people ask me why I do not have a mobile or use a computer. Frankly, even I do not have an answer for this," he says.

Speaking about his memorable moments associated with Sangeet, he says screening Jurassic Park, Titanic and Lagaan was truly memorable. "Especially when I saw people from rural areas coming with children on their shoulders to see the dummy dinosaurs I was very touched," he adds.

Apart from managing the theatre, he spends a lot of time with his two grand children. "They provide me with the relaxation that I require. Now I am eagerly awaiting the third one," Misra said. Apart from this, he also continues to play tennis in the evening.

"My brother and I have won the above 45-year-old-national veterans championship and also the 55-year-old-national veterans championship, now my aim is to win the above 65-years category with my brother," Misra said.