‘It has always been my dream to reach every Indian at a reasonable price.’
After a successful theatrical run, Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par is ready for its digital release.
The film sidesteps the traditional OTT platforms and will release on Aamir’s YouTube channel Aamir Khan Talkies, which was launched a few months ago and already has over 300,000 subscribers.
Sitaare Zameen Par, which released in theatres on June 20, will be exclusively available with a pay-per-view option on Aamir Khan Talkies starting August 1.
Viewers can access the film paying Rs 100. In due course, the entire content library of Aamir Khan Productions — Lagaan, Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, Delhi Belly, Dangal, — will be available on the platform on a video-on-demand basis.
“It has always been my dream to reach every Indian at a reasonable price so they can afford it. I have called Aamir Khan Talkies ‘janta ka theatre’ because it’s actually a personal theatre for people,” Aamir explains.
“I don’t have anything against streaming platforms. (But) Ever since Indian cinema has existed, it has only existed on one model, pay per view. We visit the theatre once, we pay once and we watch the film once. So I decided to replicate the same model that has been used in theatres to digital devices,” Aamir said at a media interaction.
WATCH: Why Sitaare Zameen Par wasn’t released on streaming platforms
The announcement was in contrast with Aamir’s previous claim where he said Sitaare Zameen Par would not be released on YouTube.
The actor reveals why he lied about it.
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All upcoming films made under his banner, Aamir said, will be available on YouTube after they complete their theatrical run, and each movie will be available at a minimal cost of Rs 100.
Some content will be provided free of cost, including episodes of his television show Satyamev Jayate.
The channel will also license content from independent film-makers and provide them with a platform.
When asked about the success metric of this model, the actor-producer said this distribution strategy is “very new” for the industry.
“It’s like Christopher Columbus took off searching for India. He ended up in America,” Aamir said. “Will we have 5 viewers? Will we have 5,000 viewers? Will we have 50,000 viewers? Will we have 5 crore viewers? I don’t know,” Aamir admitted.
Up next for Aamir Khan Productions is Lahore 1947, starring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta as well as Ek Din featuring Sai Pallavi and Aamir’s son Junaid Khan.
