Sunny Deol's 'Border 2' might be the longest Bollywood movie of 2026. Recent reports put its runtime almost on par with Ranveer Singh's 'Dhurandhar'.
Border 2 has sparked a viral frenzy ahead of its theatrical release on January 23, 2026. Directed by Anurag Singh, the sequel to the 1997 classic, Border, stars Sunny Deol alongside Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ahan Shetty. The release of the track, Ghar Kab Aaoge, a reprised version of the original's hit, Sandese Aate Hain, has trended heavily on social media, tapping into deep nostalgia for the first film. Limited pre-sales, which went live recently, reportedly saw Border 2 sell around 8.28K tickets on BookMyShow in just 24 hours. Now, the latest updates suggest there's another buzzworthy aspect regarding the movie, its runtime.
Bollywood films over the last decade have mostly run around 2 hours and 30 minutes. Earlier, movies were longer, with many spanning three hours or more. The shortening of movies has become the norm these days due to reduced song counts and shorter lengths, and to the audience's shift in preference from lengthy to crisp content. Breaking the norm, 2025's year-end movie, Dhurandhar, clocked a record runtime of 3 hours and 34 minutes. The spy thriller hit the theatres on December 5, 2025, and will land on OTT (Netflix) on January 30, 2026. The film's extensive runtime generated immense buzz online.
Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar became the longest Bollywood film released in the last 17 years, surpassing Jodhaa Akbar (2008) by one minute. Now, another film might be all set to join Dhurandhar in the 3-hour club. A January 2026 report by Bollywood Hungama suggested that Sunny Deol's upcoming film, Border 2, has also set an over-3-hour runtime. According to the report, Border 2 is 3 hours and 19 minutes long after the final edit. It further stated that the distributors have asked for all shows for Border 2 in single screens for two consecutive weeks. Notably, the entire thing is based on media updates, and an official announcement from the production team is still awaited. If the news turns out to be true, then it will be just 19 minutes shorter than Dhurandhar.
Border 2 is indeed based on a true story. While its predecessor focused on the Army's Battle of Longewala, the sequel depicts a broader scope of the 1971 India-Pakistan War, specifically focusing on the events surrounding Operation Chengiz Khan. Key historical elements featured in the film include the depiction of Operation Chengiz Khan. The film portrays the Indian Armed Forces' response to Pakistan's preemptive air strikes on 11 Indian airbases on December 3, 1971. Unlike the first film, Border 2 highlights the combined role of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Besides the land fight, Border 2 includes the Indian Navy's counteroperations in Karachi and the Air Force's response to Pakistani jets. Regarding the character inspirations, Ahan Shetty's role is reportedly based on Major General H.S. Kler, a legendary commander who played a crucial role in the liberation of Dhaka, and Diljit Dosanjh's character is based on Wing Commander Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon. Sekhon was a true Indian hero, the only IAF officer to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra. The story was written by Nidhi Dutta, who reportedly drew inspiration from actual events and stories of valour shared by the late General Bipin Rawat.
What are your thoughts on Border 2's over 3-hour runtime? Let us know.
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