New Delhi: Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge is scheduled to hit theatres on 19 March across the country, as one of the biggest pan-India releases. Its predecessor, the 2025 blockbuster Dhurandhar, also opened with paid previews a day earlier in India.
While Dhurandhar’s runtime was three hours and 34 minutes, the sequel is three hours and 49 minutes. Although some audiences are shocked by the film’s length, it is by no means the longest movie in Indian cinema.
Here are five Hindi films with the longest runtimes in the last 25 years, most of which feature an ensemble cast.
1.LOC Kargil (2003)
JP Dutta’s epic war film, based on the Kargil War, has remained the longest Indian film with a theatrical runtime of four hours and 15 minutes in the last two decades. Featuring an ensemble cast of Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, and Sunil Shetty, among others. The film, however, unlike Dutta’s previous war film, Border (1997), failed at the box office. The film made only Rs 31.67 crores worldwide, falling below its budget of Rs 33 crores.
2. Lagaan (2001)
Aamir Khan’s period sports drama had a runtime of three hours and 44 minutes. In an interview with Mashable India, Khan, who was also the producer of the film, mentioned that the first cut of the film was seven and a half hours long. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the film also featured Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in key roles. It was the costliest Indian film at the time of its release, and the budget increased during production. The film made Rs 58.03 crores worldwide and was also India’s official selection for the 73rd Academy Awards.
3. Salaam-E-Ishq: A Tribute to Love (2007)
The film had a runtime of three hours and 36 minutes. The film, directed by Nikkhil Advani, had an ensemble cast featuring Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Akshaye Khanna and Priyanka Chopra, among others. It was the unofficial remake of the Hollywood film Love Actually (2003), intertwining six different love stories. The film made Rs 51.97 crores worldwide.
Also Read: Dhurandhar 2 album is very Punjabi. There are no item songs
4. Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Jodhaa Akbar had a runtime of three hours and 33 minutes. The period drama starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in titular roles showed the love story between the Mughal emperor and his Rajput wife. At the 56th National Film Awards, it won two awards for Best Choreography for the song ‘Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah’ and Best Costume Design. The film made Rs 106.68 crores worldwide and became one of the biggest hits of the year.
5. Mohabbatein (2000)
The Y2K era in Hindi cinema was defined by Yash Raj Films’ Mohabbatein, which featured Shah Rukh Khan as Music Professor Raj Aryan. The musical romance had a runtime of three hours and 36 minutes. Directed by Aditya Chopra, it also marked the debuts of Uday Chopra, Shamita Shetty and Kim Sharma. The emotionally charged battle between Aryan and the strict, authoritarian Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan), with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the woman caught between love and duty, created a film that has become a cult classic but flopped at the box office. It earned a mere Rs 15.46 crores worldwide.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)