Living up to his reputation, Aamir Khan is on his way to shake the industry as he opted for the release of Sitaare Zameen Par exclusively on YouTube Movies-on-Demand.
The move will completely bypass the traditional streaming platforms, which usually host the films after post-theatrical release.
In an interview with Variety, he weighed in on his approach, which was born from an idea he previously had.
“Roughly 15 years ago, I realized that our most successful films, like ‘3 Idiots’ or ‘Dangal,’ the statistic of people watching in theaters is about 2-3% of the population,” the actor notes.
“So the next thought that came to me is, how do we reach out to the remaining 97-98%?” he adds.
To reach them, Aamir has sidestepped the subscription-based streaming services because he believes they are not economically viable in the long run; so he made his movie available for $1.15 in 38 countries, including India, on YouTube.
“If a family of four sits and watches the film, then it comes to INR25 [¢28] per head, which I think is a value that works not just for the audiences, but also gives an opportunity for filmmakers to earn so they can make better content,” the star shares.
His decision comes at a time when reports say the media landscape is going through technological and behavioural shifts.
Moreover, YouTube has a massive reach in India, as highlighted by the country’s managing director, Gunjan Soni, which led to the partnership with the megastar.
“Aamir’s vision and the way he drives democratization is really the heart of YouTube’s mission as well,” she tells the outlet. “So it was actually almost a perfect fit from that perspective.”
In the partnership, no advance payment has been given to Aamir Khan Productions; instead, the revenue will be shared on a pay-per-view model.
Ultimately, Aamir says, this distribution experience is not a one-off. “I’m hoping that this will be the blueprint for my future slate, because I feel this is the best way that I would like to reach my audience,” he states.
“I would like to have a healthy theatrical release, and then I would like to be present on digital, on YouTube, on a video-on-demand basis,” Aamir concludes.
Sitaare Zameen Par will be available from Aug 1.