Kalki 2898 AD was released last week and is performing strongly at the box office. Now, all eyes are on Indian 2, the next big pan-India release. Directed by Shankar, this film is a sequel to Indian and stars Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, Kajal Aggarwal, and Rakul Preet Singh in lead roles.
Recent reports indicate that Indian 2 has a runtime of 3 hours and 4 seconds. This means it will be a three-hour-long film.
Many recent big films have opted for lengthy runtimes and have been successful, surprisingly. Examples include Animal, Salaar, and Kalki 2898 AD. However, some believe these films might have performed even better with shorter runtimes as there were too many lags in all these three films.
It is challenging for any director to keep the audience engaged for three hours in a cinema hall. However, Shankar is a pro and has a track record of making lengthy films. His movies like Indian, Aparichitudu, Sivaji, Nanban, and I were all over three hours long.
For a film with such a long runtime to work, it needs to be extremely engaging; otherwise, it could backfire as it happened with Maidaan recently.
Additionally, Indian 2 is a prequel to the upcoming Indian 3. There is a risk that the audience might feel unsatisfied if they don’t feel they have watched a complete film even after sitting for three hours.
Shankar’s reputation is at stake as he has not delivered a film of his caliber for more than a decade now.
We will have to see what Shankar and Kamal Haasan have cooked in Indian 2.
