From an era when feature films first made their way onto the silverscreen — the silent era of movies, it was barely an experience that lasted a few minutes, which then picked up pace. Currently, though, the length or duration of films seems to have no limits with the longest film till date in Indian cinema being four hours and 35 minutes — a Tamil film released in 2005. The length of a film depends on the subject and various aspects of filmmaking including the director’s imagination. While it is a huge challenge these days to keep the audience interested in such lengthy ventures, most often, films have ‘scenes’ that see Mr Scissor-hands busy at it for a trimmed experience even after release. In a reverse scenario, the film Anjaniputra witnessed an addition of eight minutes to its length. Bengaluru Chronicle reports on the lengthy affair in short.
“When the film completed 25 days at the box office, and the audience was responding well, we decided to add another eight minutes to the film as a special attraction to the fans of Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar. We even made a special teaser of 30 seconds before the added version of the film was released in a few select theatres, and the response has been great,” says director Harsha.
About this added inclusion, even Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar expressed that most of his films have been reduced in duration but in a first of its kind, eight more minutes of additional scenes have been added to Anjaniputra. A producer had to spend extra, and he was happy to do so due to the film’s success. While this is an unusual case, film historian Subramanya feels that inclusion and deletion of scenes and songs have always been a part of film making.
“Prior to films, the audience was used to plays and drama which would run for hours, and sometimes days. And, when feature films started rolling in, they were really short. Initially, it was due to the financial aspect as making a film was an expensive matter and without proper technology and knowledge, it was a limited experience. Later, when everything was mastered, the duration increased. It purely depends on the maker. Now, keeping the audience hooked for couple of hours is a greater challenge. It has to be a masterpiece in order to pass the test of time these days,” he says.
In some cases when highly-expected films do not do well at the box office, with complaints about its long duration, makers attempt another try with a few deletions, feels director Satya Prakash. However, long or short, it is the overall quality of the film that matters, and most importantly, whether it entertains the audience or not is the vital aspect, experts sign off.
