'Runtime' Issues Plaguing Telugu Films Big Time

One of the biggest issues that’s hitting some films big time is none other than the ‘Runtime’ issue. Even a decade ago, Tollywood faced the same issue, and many films opted for a cute 2 hours runtime to make sure that the films don’t create a sense of lagging in theatres. But the likes of Rangasthalam introduced to 3 hours length movies again, and they worked. Here’s the current reality now.

Recently, after being released with a lengthier runtime, Ram Charan’s Peddi faced initial hurdles and later, 15 minutes of the film were trimmed. Before that, Adivi Sesh’s Dacoit also went through the scissors after the release of the movie. Many thought, why would the makers of these films cut down the slow parts before the release itself? However, directors think that they need those scenes for the creative realism of the movie.

Now comes Nagabandham, which has 3 hours 15 minutes of runtime on release day, but is trimmed to 2 hours 45 minutes the next day. If those 30 minutes were trimmed beforehand, surely the ‘lag talk’ wouldn’t have popped up, say many. However, filmmakers are taken over by the fact that the very same audience saw the Dhurandhar Telugu version, which has a 4-hour runtime without any worries. However, if the runtime is lengthy, then those scenes should hold the attention without fail. Otherwise if feels like lag, and our filmmakers should understand that aspect first.

Meanwhile, on the internet, people are arguing that an ‘editor’ should cut the scenes and some blame that the final call rests with the ‘director’, so he has to take care of it. Whoever it may be, the whole team should watch the film before release, take opinions, and trim down parts that are not working. Else, trimming down after a release is most of the times ineffective as runtime issues continue to plague Telugu new releases.