Short
and
crisp
narratives
such
as
Pizza
and
Soodhu
Kavvum
are
having
an
edge
over
biggies
like
Thalaivaa
and
Alex
Pandian
down
south,
say
trade
pundits,
adding
that
shorter
attention
span
of
viewers
is
a
growing
concern
for
the
stakeholders
of
lengthy
movies.
Legendary
filmmaker
Alfred
Hitchcock
had
once
said,
"The
length
of
a
film
should
directly
be
related
to
the
endurance
of
human
bladder." It
seems
apt
for
today's
time.
Actor-filmmaker
Lakshmy
Ramakrishnan,
who
directed
90-minute-long
Tamil
drama
Aarohanam,
feels
lengthy
stories
lose
their
charm.
"When
a
film
is
unnecessarily
stretched,
it
loses
its
charm.
I
think
the
ideal
running
time
should
be
between
two
and
two
hours
and
15
minutes.
Theatre
owners
welcomed
my
film,
as
it
was
only
90
minutes
long.
A
shorter
film
may
also
get
maximum
shows
across
the
screens
in
a
multiplex,"
Lakshmy
told
IANS.
"Some
filmmakers
feel
that
one
and
a
half
hours
is
not
enough
to
justify
the
money
that
an
audience
spends
on
a
film;
therefore,
they
make
a
three-hour-long
film.
It
might
work
for
a
star's
films,
but
not
for
smaller
films
with
unfamiliar
casts,"
she
added.
National
Award-winning
editor
KL
Praveen
meanwhile
points
out
that
presence
of
big
stars
do
not
guarantee
success
of
lengthier
films.
"I
insist
on
all
my
directors
to
keep
the
film
as
short
as
possible.
One
of
the
star
films
I
worked
on
was
about
two
hours
and
40
minutes
long.
It
did
well
but
I'm
sure
it
would
have
done
even
better
had
it
been
shorter.
Moreover,
some
star
films
might
not
work
because
eventually
it
is
the
story
that
decides
the
fate
of
a
film,"
Praveen
said.
One
can
learn
a
lesson
from
Thalaivaa,
Alex
Pandian
and
All
in
All
Azhagu
Raja,
the
big
movies
that
turned
turtle
at
the
Box
Office.
For
smaller
films,
a
shorter
running
time
has
become
a
blessing,
feels
Praveen.
"Our
films
usually
follow
six
songs
template,
but
it's
not
the
case
with
recent
low-budget
films
like
Neeram
and
Pizza.
These
films
may
not
have
worked
if
they
were
a
little
longer.
The
shorter
running
time
has
been
their
biggest
advantage,"
he
added.
Pizza,
a
127-minute
film
made
on
a
budget
of
Rs
2
crore,
did
business
of
over
Rs
15
crore
and
Soodhu
Kavvum,
a
133-minute
Rs.4
crore
drama
collected
over
Rs
25
crore.
One-and-a-half
hour-long
movie
Neeram,
made
on
a
budget
of
Rs
2
crore,
earned
over
Rs
10
crore.
In
fact
Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag,
which
originally
released
with
a
running
time
of
186
minutes,
was
shortened
by
half
an
hour
for
its
international
release.
Attention
span
of
the
audience
doesn't
last
for
over
two
hours,
says
film
critic
and
trade
analyst
Sreedhar
Pillai.
"We
are
in
the
digital
world
and
audiences
are
constantly
distracted
by
social
networking
sites.
You
can't
expect
them
to
watch
a
three-hour-long
film
patiently.
Their
attention
span
oscillates
between
120
and
135
minutes.
If
they're
bored,
they
just
walk
out
of
the
cinema
hall,"
Sreedhar
told
IANS.
Another
practical
problem
is
faced
by
multiplexes
while
allocating
showtime
to
lengthier
movies.
"In
Tamil
Nadu,
theatres
are
allowed
to
screen
only
four
shows
every
day.
Every
feature
film
is
played
with
at
least
15
minutes
of
advertisements
and
a
15
to
20
minute
interval.
Theatres
also
need
turnaround
time
of
about
half
an
hour
between
shows.
This
time
is
usually
spent
in
cleaning
up
the
hall
and
managing
traffic
in
the
parking
lot,"
he
said.
"Keeping
in
mind
all
these
factors,
if
a
film
is
about
160-170
minutes
long,
technically
each
show
would
be
about
three
and
a
half
hours.
Any
film
over
140-150
minutes
is
a
dead
duck,"
added
Sreedhar.
Southern
star
Akkineni
Nagarjuna,
who
is
also
into
filmmaking,
says
that
one
can
experiment
with
length.
"Our
films
are
actually
two
hours
long,
but
we
include
half
an
hour
of
songs
and
fights.
I
feel
the
story
of
any
film
should
not
be
more
than
120
minutes
and
any
addition
to
that
could
be
songs
or
other
commercial
toppings,"
he
said.
Anjali
Shome,
an
avid
movie
buff,
said,
"With
hiked
ticket
prices,
Indian
middle-class
gives
more
weightage
to
mileage
over
features."