Festival biggies go in for ambitious run-times; Details inside

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.