Category: Technology

This Friday will see the release of Baahubali: The Epic. It combines two Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) into one part, as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of the former. This is a novel experiment and has probably never been done before in the world. Some moviegoers and industry personalities doubted if viewers would rewatch a film that they have consumed repeatedly and that too in this unique form. However, the risk seems to have paid off. The advance booking down South and Overseas for the original Telugu audience is outstanding. It is common knowledge that Baahubali: The Epic has a run time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Bollywood Hungama has now learned about the duration of the first half and second half of the film. A trade source told Bollywood Hungama, “The pre-interval portion of Baahubali: The Epic is 1 hours 42 minutes and 33 seconds long. The second half is longer than 2 hours. The exact length of the second half is 2 hours, 3 minutes and 11 seconds. The total duration of the film, thus, is 3 hours 45 minutes and 44 seconds.”Just 1 intervalIn the past, such lengthy films have had not one, but two intermission points. Old-timers recollect that Raj Kapoor-starrer Sangam (1964), which was 238 minutes long, that is, 3 hours and 58 minutes long, had two intervals. Mera Naam Joker (1970) was 255 minutes long, that is, 4 hours and 15 minutes, and it also had two interval points. In recent times, Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) had an interval twice after the longer cut was released in cinemas. Over the years, the twin interval system was dropped. Films like Mohabbatein (2000; 215 minutes), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001; 210 minutes), Animal (2023; 203 minutes), The Bengal Files (2025; 204 minutes) etc. have been released with just one intermission point. Coming back to Baahubali: The Epic, Baahubali: The Beginning had a runtime of 159 minutes, while Baahubali 2: The Conclusion clocked 167 minutes. This means that together, the two parts originally ran for a total of 326 minutes, or 5 hours and 26 minutes. In contrast, Baahubali: The Epic is just 225 minutes long, making it shorter by 101 minutes. It remains to be seen how the makers have condensed the two monumental chapters of the saga into one cohesive narrative without compromising on the grandeur, emotion, and continuity that made Baahubali a cultural phenomenon. Also Read: Baahubali: The Epic gets U/A certificate with a 3-hour-44-minute runtime, releasing this October.