Until very recently the length of each film was dictated by the multi-show schedules of multiplex cinemas. Every film had to end within a duration of two hours. A slew of recent successful and not-so-successful films in 2013 seems to have changed the rules regarding the running-time of flicks. Several of this year’s most successful films, including the three certified blockbusters — Race 2, Aashiqui 2 and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani — ran well into a playing-time of over two hours.
The two-hour mark
While last year and several years prior to 2012, one would scarcely come across any film that exceeded the two-hour diktat, this year started with Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam with a running-time close to three hours, followed by Sajid Khan’s Himmatwala, Kannan Iyer’s Ek Thi Daayan, Mohit Suri’s Aashiqui 2, Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala, Atul Sabharwal’s Aurangzeb, Ayan Mukerjee’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Sangeeth Sivan’s Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 and now Aanand Rai’s Raanjhanaa and Rajkumar Gupta’s Ghanchakkar all defiantly and extravagantly exceeded the two-hour playing time.
Up next
Many forthcoming major films, including Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (three hours, 10 minutes!), Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela and Prakash Jha’s Satyagraha are expected to exceed the ‘multiplex timing’.
It’s about the film!
Prakash Jha, whose Satyagraha would have an exact running-time of two hours and 30 minutes, says the duration of a film must not be dictated by the amount of samosas and popcorns that can be sold at the multiplexes, and the number of shows that can be crammed into every theatre per day. “I chiselled, polished and cut down my film as much as I could. Finally, it turned out to be exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes. And I make no apologies about the length. How can every film be cut down to two hours? Every story has its own rhythm. One can’t tamper with that rhythm just to cram in a few extra shows.”
Telling stories
Filmmakers were being persuaded to do exactly that until recently. The length of almost every film was being pushed into the two-hour time-frame, making it difficult for filmmakers to tell their story cogently. Producer Pritish Nandy feels the narrative is once again becoming central to the storytelling. “And that’s the way it ought to be. That’s why the story-telling is becoming longer.” Interestingly, Nandy feels audiences again favour the longer playing-time. “People again prefer the two-hour-20-minute running-time. That extended playing-time doesn’t try their patience because television has habituated them to films that take over three hours’ time with commercial breaks.
No Diktats please
Sanjay Gupta, whose hit Shootout At Wadala occupied two hours 25 minutes of playing-time, feels it’s time to let every film take its own time. “I don’t think we filmmakers need to follow multiplex diktats just so they can play more shows. If your story is expansive and needs more time then so be it.” Gupta reminds us that the biggest hits of their times have taken their time to tell their story. “Almost all major blockbusters from Mughal-E-Azam to Sholay to Lagaan to Gadar to Ghajini have been closer to three hours’ playing-time. People get their true paisa-vasool satisfaction when the film is long and satisfying.”
Cellphone generation
Trade analyst Komal Nahata feels the slew of lengthier two hour-plus films is coincidental. “The norm is still the shorter films. It wasn’t multiple shows but the reduced attention-span of audiences in the era of SMSs that made shorter films more viewer-friendly.” Producer Siddharth Jain feels the duration of a film should depend on the star cast. “If a film stars the popular A-listers the longer playing-time is fine. But when it stars newer actors then 90-110 minutes is more than adequate. On the whole I feel shorter films are preferable for the youth who are obsessed with their cellphones. Longer films need master storytellers and mega-stars. I can watch Deepika Padukone for four hours in a good film.”
The last word
Concludes Subhash Ghai, “It was never about the length. Even an hour-long film can be be boring whereas a 4-hour film can keep audiences riveted .” According to producer Shailendra Singh a film’s length should be driven by content. “Cinema is all about three things, storytelling storytelling and storytelling.Our cinema should be driven by content and not show-timings or economics.”
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