The three big Sankranthi releases have gone in for brave run-times. With 'Darbar' (January 9th release), 'Sarileru Neekevvaru' (January 11th release), and 'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo' (January 12th release) getting Censor certifications, they have finalized their run-times.

'Darbar': Director AR Murugadoss has chosen to tell the story at a length of 159 minutes. Rajinikanth's screen presence, the Mumbai backdrop, the masala elements (from Nayanthara's romantic track to Yogi Babu's comedy and the very many fights), the genre - they all require this length.

'SNE': Mahesh Babu's film is the lengthiest of the three. At 169 minutes, this Anil Ravipudi directorial has a bold run-time for sure. Big-ticket films in Telugu have been regularly daring to have such run-times in recent years. The train episode and the fights, the casting and the genre seem to have demanded this length.

'AVPL': For a film that has a large ensemble cast, this one has a run-time of 165 minutes. Allu Arjun's middle-class background must have taken time to establish itself in the film. Hope much of this time will go into making the audience be in splits.