Looks like films with over three-hour runtimes have become the new norm for the latest Bollywood biggies. Riteish Deshmukh’s upcoming epic Raja Shivaji has locked a runtime of about 3 hours and 15 minutes, as per a report in Bollywood Hungama.
Animal, Dhurandhar, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, and Border 2 were over three hours long, with the Dhurandhar series being an outlier. Now Raja Shivaji has joined this coveted list, and it remains to be seen if the historical action drama can replicate the magic of the films mentioned here.
The film featuring Riteish Deshmukh as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also has Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, Bhagyashree, Sachin Khedekar, and others in key roles. Jio Studios produced it jointly with Riteish Deshmukh. The film releases on May 1.
Patriot marks the coming together of Mollywood stalwarts Mohanlal and Mammootty. Fahadh Faasil and Nayanthara play key roles. The spy action thriller made on a whopping budget of Rs. 140 crores is carrying low hype among the audiences, and this came as a shock to the trade experts, who expected the film to enjoy insane pre-release hype.
The release has been pushed to May 1 from April 23. Somehow, there isn’t that level of excitement and anticipation among audiences that one usually expects from a star-studded project. The industry now hopes that the film turns out to be good and that the tables will turn post the release.
Directed by Mahesh Narayanan, the film also features Kunchako Boban and Revathy in key roles. Anto Joseph and KG Anil Kumar produced it under the banners of Anto Joseph Film Company, Kichappus Entertainments, CR Saleem Productions, and Blue Tigers London.
