Last week, when Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do released in the theatres to a good 2 hours 50minutes of reel time, I saw the audience go berserk with philosophies of lengthy- time wasting movies. While the likability of the movie was extremely subjective, people’s patience had definitely been tested yet again.
Sitting for a 2 and a half hour long film has never looked longer than in times today. While I personally felt that DDD had taken it’s own good sweet time to build on the essential elements, and create a momentum for the punch points and important scenes to leave an impact, many saw that as an unnecessary elongation of the script. Was it really the script that was put to test?
I find it quite ironic to believe that of the 100 plus years of Indian cinema, majority films, till quite recently have clocked a screen time of around and above 3 hours.
Mera Naam Joker 255 minutes
Sangam 238 minutes
Hum Saath Saath Hai 228 minutes
Lagaan 224 minutes
Jodhaa Akbar 213 minutes
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham 210 minutes
Mughal-e-Azam 197 minutes
Sangam was the first film in history to be released with 2 intervals. The similar suit was followed by Raj Kapoor in his next, Mera Naam Joker. But lengthy films of song and dance have not always merely been a phenomena of Indian origins. In fact, some of the most popular films from the west have also had a running time of over 4 hours, inclusive of classics such as Gone With The Wind, The Godfather, The Ten Commandments, Benhur, Troy and many many more films.
Lord Of The Rings 242 minutes
Gone With The Wind 233 minutes
The Ten Commandments 231 minutes
Schindler’s List 196 minutes
Titanic 194 minutes
If you note the trend carefully, most films with longer durations were made in the early days of cinema and entertainment, when films served as means of entertaining the public as well creating awareness to issues. Considering the technological advancements and financial backdrop of people, watching a movie was equivalent to well planned outing. In fact it was a ‘once-in-a-month’ event where the complete family would dress up after waiting for days and go enjoy the on screen magic.
For a long time, movies remained a lavish hobby to follow. Even when the middle classes were introduced to this form of entertainment, the cost that it brought along always gave them an excuse to make this a well planned outing. Back then, films did not put in hefty marketing budgets to attract the viewers to the cinemas. Instead, they invested in bringing on board massy superstars, top musicians-lyricist-singers and some exotic locales in the film. What we mock today as sheer stupidity and breech of logic, back then was a massive hit amongst the masses. More because they watched movies to take a breather and laugh rather than drenching themselves in deep dark thinking.
All the cheesy dialogues, OTT fashion, poetic songs with unmechanized music and the thumbs and the glycerine smiles and tears constituted as what was term as BOLLYWOOD ENTERTAINMENT.
Several years later, when our access to western cinema increased and everything west was supposed to be cool (I’d call this an MNC trap to make better sales) downsizing Indian cinema became the cooler thing.
With an age of change, we also silently welcomed an age of influenced stories. In another of our attempts to ape the west, filmmakers who decided to take the new-age-gutsy path, chose to ditch item numbers and long emotional scenes to cut down the story to the practicality of it. They began to call this crisp and to the point. I apologize, but somehow I still can’t make sense of showing a revenge story without showing the bond and the loss.
When did taking the obvious for granted become an obviously stated statement?
I am not sure if I am a part of the minority that feels the pinch of leaping content and emotions which created momentum and emotion for the story and the characters. Does the current generation of cine goers prefer the speed of the story than it’s build up and the real drama? Is it okay to showcase a love story in merely one song in a film based on revenge? Is it okay to cover an entire turning point of a film in just one song? No wonder people fall in and out of love in a letter of 2 scenes and 3 dialogues along some exotic locales.
I do not have the west alone to blame. Or anyone to specifically target and blame for this matter. Another important revolution, that of technology has played a key role in the transforming change that we see today. We’ve not just come open to the idea of micro films by budding filmmakers thanks to the easily accessible technology; but we have also resorted to newer means and channels for entertainment. We can now download a film at our own will in minutes or change the TV channel upon the dawning of a commercial break. With everything going here-to-there making quick shifts, technology has massively killed our patience to the extent that even a second long delay in loading a web page or delivering a Whatsapp message causes an internal unrest.
Similarly with films, to sit through a linear thought for over 120 minutes is a life taking experience for many, especially if the genre or the artists or simply the story does’ match their personal style or liking. Anything beyond a span of 2 hours is hard to digest. Spoilt for choice with an increasingly shorter attention span. In a recent study by Microsoft, it was discovered that the attention span of humans has drastically dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. Thus proving, this has little to do with the content and more to deal with the internal changes of the human mind. So every time you watch a movie, you’re busy multitasking between your instant messages and other phone notifications, unable to fixate your eyes on the screen.
Also, like we always make an excuse of the lack of time, the patience level has taken many tosses to fit the bill. Because we are always running somewhere.
Ultimately, my only question is- “If sitting through seasons of your favorite TV series glued on that one screen seems so very possible every night to you, why such intolerance towards the movies?”
This post was first published on Cinemawaali Writes
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