Every story has a span and it is the responsibility of the director to narrate it in the limited runtime. Gone are the days where the audience watch lengthy films. A minute of lag is bringing a negative impact on the films. The second half of the film should be crispy and racy. It may be a surprise but there are a section of film lovers who are watching films based on the runtime. They prefer online platforms like Book My Show to check the final runtime to pick their weekend choice. Some of them are not ready to watch lengthy films in theatres unless the word of mouth is exceptional. The directors have to consider all these and they have to carve out their product in the most engaging manner with a crisp runtime.
But some of the filmmakers are not ready to digest the ongoing trend and they are making mistakes. Vivek Athreya is undoubtedly a talented director but he is quite specific on his length. Lengthy runtime is the major reason for Ante Sundaraniki to end up as a disaster. For a film like Ante Sundaraniki, the story has to be narrated in less than two and a half hours. But the film lasted for three hours. The same is the case with his latest release Saripodhaa Sanivaaram. Though the film received positive response, most of them blamed the director for the runtime. Saripodhaa Sanivaaram has different layers and is a film that runs on screenplay. But 20 minutes short of the current runtime would have done wonders for the film. Not blaming Vivek Athreya, it is the responsibility of every director and filmmaker to have a check on the final runtime as it can kill the film entirely.