Bollywood experiments with shorter movies

Following in the footsteps of Hollywood, a new genre of short-duration Hindi films is making inroads, as production houses look at shorter turnaround time at multiplexes.

Currently, the average duration of a Hindi movie is 120-150 minutes, while that of an English movie is 90 minutes. Many production houses had an unrestrained eye for action, drama, song and fight sequences to highten the dramatic effects over three hours. But, with audiences spoilt for various entertainment options and with a shortened attention span, production houses are investing in movies of 120 minutes on an average, making films more compact and to-the-point. Going forward, Hindi movies are likely to bring it down to 110 minutes, which is increasingly being considered ‘optimal’ by producers.

Sujoy Ghosh, director of movies like Alaadin and Jhankaar Beats, said: “Short duration movies get more shows in multiplexes, at least five shows, per day. As movies these days make money only in the first two to three weeks, it is important for the producers to get as many shows in a multiplex as possible.”

Audiences, too, appreciate movies that eliminate the melodramatic and needlessly long fights or musical sequences.

Some movies that fared reasonably at the box office recently, like Bheja Fry (grossed over Rs 20 crore) and Khosla Ka Ghosla (grossed around Rs 15 crore) were just about two hours long.

Another movie, Dus Kahaniyan, that had ten different narratives, 12 writers, eight composers, six directors, and 25 actors, was for less than two hours and was rated ‘average’ at the box office.

Shorter movies also make business sense. Vikram Bhatt, CEO, ASA Productions and Enterprises, said, “Short duration movies take less time to shoot and the film turnaround is quicker. So, while a short duration movie would take about 40-45 days to complete, a long duration movie would take just the double of that.”

ASA Productions, for instance, brought down its movie, Shaapit to around two hours and grossed around Rs 11 crore at the box office. The movie was made with a budget of Rs 7 crore.

“Also, we save around Rs 10,000 per print, if the movie duration is short,” Bhatt added.

Jehil Thakkar, entertainment analyst with KPMG, pointed out that a 120-150 movie would cost around Rs 50-70,000 per print. Any movie, which is 30 per cent shorter will save around 30 per cent per print, a lot, considering that a lot of big-budget movies release films worldwide with over 1,000 prints.”

Thakkar added that while earlier Hindi movies had some 12 songs, the new-age, shorter Hindi movies are more compact, with a maximum three or four songs, which are more impactful for the present-generation of movie-goers.

Ravi Gupta, CEO of Mukta Arts, said, “Currently, the average duration of Hindi movies is 120 minutes. This may come down to 110 minutes for Hindi movies in the near future, as that is optimal. Earlier, movies used to celebrate golden and silver jubilee of theatrical runs, but now a movie runs in theatres for only two to three weeks and the first week’s collection matters most.”

Mukta Arts’ recent movie Right Ya Wrong, made with a budget of Rs 14 crore, was also 120 minutes long. “Short duration movies are essentially low-budget. Such movies bring down overall production costs since they require less number of days to shoot,” added Gupta.