Not producers, not directors, not writers, not distributors. The biggest craft-centric critics of film critics are Editors. In the latest instance, renowned Editor A Sreekar Prasad has hit out at movie reviewers, saying that half of them don't get the craft at all.
"They don't know the difference between good and poor editing. If they don't like a film, they just suggest that the run-time could have been twenty minutes shorter," Sreekar Prasad, known for Telugu outings like Bharat Ane Nenu, Rajamouli's RRR, Saaho, among others, said. He received criticism for Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan movies from reviewers.
In the past, a similar comment was made by Editor Marthand K Venkatesh of Pokiri fame. "I don't read reviews. About editing, they just say that the film could have been shorter by 15 minutes. If you edit out that much run-time, nothing will make sense," he added.
In many instances, the Editor has limited license to trim the run-time. It's usually the director's call.
