Mumbai, June 17 – Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has often shown his love for big screen cinema, and he is doing the same for his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par by protecting its exclusive theatrical window, even at the cost of crores of rupees.
It is known to all that Aamir has not decided to sell the film’s post-theatrical OTT rights, as he wants people to watch the film on the big screen without having any idea when it will be available on home media for free. While his decision is being cheered by the trade, he has sacrificed a huge sum to stand firm on his decision.
According to trade analyst Komal Nahta, Aamir has turned down a huge 120 crore offer from Amazon Prime Video for the film’s post-theatrical OTT release. The decision he has taken is not because he wanted more money from OTT platforms, but because he has decided to try and change the game.
Normally, the films are made available on OTT after an 8-weeks of their theatrical release, and this is something Aamir is completely against. He believes that there should be no fixed window for any movie and that they should be played in theatres as long as possible.
In the post-COVID-19 world, filmmakers started having pre-agreements with OTT platforms with a fixed theatrical window. Trade believes that this is one of the main reasons footfalls have reduced in cinemas, especially for mid-size films, as there is a section of audience which is ready to wait for 8 weeks to watch them for ‘free’, which was not the case before Covid-19.
This is something Aamir wants to change, and he is leading by example by not selling OTT rights of Sitaare Zameen Par, and has vowed to do the same with his upcoming movies. By turning down a massive 120 crores offer, however, is a huge risk taken by the Dangal star, but if he succeeds, then it can be a game changer and might pave the way for other filmmakers to follow the same for the larger interest of the industry.
Sitaare Zameen Par is scheduled to hit the big screen on June 20.
Stay tuned…
