In olden days, it wasn’t just 3 hours that was the norm, it was often 3 hours PLUS MORE for movies. Let’s talk about some super old movies and which ones feel the shortest to you when you watch them!
Lagaan
That cricket match! It just takes FOREVER. I am going along enjoying things, and then kathunk, dead in the water, feel like the movie will never end.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham
Doesn’t actually feel that long! Except for the dozen endings at the end without it actually ending. If you see what I mean.
Sholay
Definitely the shortest feeling one for me. I am on the edge of my seat the whole time, constantly surprised and ready for more
What are your super long faves? What do you think about these three super long ones listed above?
dontcallitbollywood 
Fav long movies that are not yet mentioned above:
– Jodhaa Akbar is LONG – then again it feels like longevity is Ashutosh’s trademark by this point
– Baahubali 1 + 2 together – 6 hours easily, especially since they are better watched as one movie
– Sangam – it is a little boring in the middle, but otherwise great
– Amar Akbar Anthony – long, but FUN
– Dil Se – the middle is a little “eh” but it comes by in the end
– Swades – easiest and most relaxing 3 hours
– HAKHK – I love this movie, it’s just entertaining even in the mundane
– Delhi-6 – a breezy 3 hours that just flies by with Rahman’s music
– Veer-Zaara – I love this movie, I love tragedy and romance, so my sappy heart likes it
– RRR – does this need an explanation as to why?
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Not my faves but ADHM and Ranjhanaa feel like they never end. I checked now and both movies are like 2 and half hours long. I was sure they are at least 3 hours for how long they feel.
KANK is 5 minutes longer than K3G and it’s strange because on one hand I’m surprised it’s longer, but on the other I’m like: yes, it’s so long and slow.
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KANK and K3G!!
And I never realized that Amar Akbar Anthony was long?? So I guess that too.
I’m noticing a Bachchan theme…
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Swades
RRR
K3G
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My favorites besides the two you already mentioned:
Jodha Akbar
Hum Aapke Hai Kaun
Hum Saath Saath Hai (I think this movie is almost 4 hours long!)
All of them are long but I can watch them over and over again.
Also, as others have mentioned, Amar Akbar Anthony, but I didn’t even realize this one was long. It’s excellent.
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“Mughal E Azam”and “Whats your Raashee?” are the longest Indian movies I’ve watched. One is a historical masterpiece which is extremely detailed and has amazing character relationships. The other is a shitty romcom which made me want to gouge my eyes with acid and never want to see an Ashutosh Gowariker film (until Swades as SRK erases all hatred) again or PC in 13 different characters. Ugh, I’m getting shivers thinking about that film. The longest film I’ve watched was Gone with the Wind which didn’t feel that long and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. So mostly good experiences with long films other than “Whats your Rashee?”.
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See, those are two GREAT examples of ong movies. One is a movie where the story demands length and it fully uses the whole structure. The other is a movie where they randomly blathered on and on and ON for no reason at all except that they are allowed to make it 3 hours.
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Man, I looked up some of my favourite old school movies thinking some of them are bound to be really long and they’re all under three hours. What a rip off. Some are nearly three hours though so that’s something but I really could have used that extra half hour or whatever,
I have to say when a movie is good it’s the greatest thing in the world when it’s super long. You can watch it for DAYS.
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I never registered the length when watching old movies, so I’ll take everyone’s word for it. The ones which feel short because I like them – Sholay, Jodha Akbar, AAA, Swades. DDLJ counts too right?
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I think so! DDLJ is almost right on 3 hours, but that’s long for now.
On Tue, Jun 21, 2022 at 6:15 PM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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Kabhir Singh (lengthy for its type of content)
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Strangely, I rarely get the length of a movie because, mostly, I’m drawn into a movie, so time is of lesser importance. But I remember a Hindi movie where I wished it would end and now, reading the length of 138min, I’m thinking why my memory gives me the impression of more than 3 hours after having read your impressions about more-than-3-hours movies who didn’t seem to be lengthy.. it’s a Sanjay Leela Bansali movie … Saawariya…
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Oh yeah, if we were going by “feeling” length, that one would be one of the longest for me!
On Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 8:35 AM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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To see KANK I stayed up late and struggled with commercials, and I had to see it in one go because if I stopped and then went to the middle of the movie I would have to see ALL the commercials from the start of the movie again. When it was over I felt like 3 hours of my life were stolen from me and I have never forgiven the movie for that.
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And in contrast, how long did RRR feel to you?
On Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 11:01 AM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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It felt like two different movies smashed together. But I was able to pause and do other things so I didn’t have to sit through them both back to back.
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I’m with everyone else who never realized that Swades and Sholay are that long! I watched them both in one go the first time.
I think I’ve said how much I like Salaam e Ishq for when I’m sick. You can just start it up and lie on the couch and doze off whenever and when you wake up the movie will still be going.
Mr. Malhotra came to visit this weekend and asked to see every Japanese person’s favorite Indian movie, 3 Idiots. He had seen half of it on TV and wanted to know how it ended. We both gave up at around the halfway point and still don’t know how it ends. That movie is LONG and really crammed with all kinds of stuff and seems to have been purposely made as long as they could get away with. On the other hand, I can’t imagine cutting anything from Swades.
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Rajkumar Hirani is definitely a Shaggy Dog Story kind of director. Just keeps going and going and never gets anywhere.
On Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 1:08 AM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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