Bollywood’s “Mr. Perfectionist,” Aamir Khan, is known for his huge work commitment. From nine Filmfare Awards to four National Awards to a Padma Bhushan, there’s a little bit of everything in Aamir’s career. He began as a child actor in ‘Yadon Ki Baarat’ and later came into prominence in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. He later came out with the epic ‘Lagaan’ on his own banner, which was nominated for the Oscar and received the National Award for Best Film. Aamir also tried his hand at direction with ‘Taare Zameen Par’, which proved to be a runaway success. Films like ‘Ghajini’, ‘3 Idiots’, ‘Dhoom 3’, ‘PK’, and ‘Dangal’ directed him into the levels of the box-office juggernaut. He even hosted the socially relevant talk show, ‘Satyamev Jayate’. After two years, Aamir will return with his film ‘Sitare Zameen Par’.
Setback with ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’
Aamir’s last, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, which was released two years ago, was a disaster at the box office. But he seemed undeterred with that as he prepares for the release of ‘Sitare Zameen Par’, due out as a Christmas 2023 release. But the film has been delayed due to some hiccups in its production. As informed, the film ‘Sitare Zameen Par’ is a sequel to the 2007 box office hit ‘Taare Zameen Par’, too dealing with children as it was done in the latter. In the film, actress Genelia D’Souza plays the lead opposite him.
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Aamir’s Decision on Digital Rights
This, out of the blue, Aamir Khan has decided not to sell the digital rights of ‘Sitare Zameen Par’ while the movie is still running in the theatres.
This is quite contrary to films being released in the theatre and simultaneously selling their digital rights to OTT for dual revenues. According to Aamir, too early a sale of digital rights hurts the theatrical experience. People do not prefer going to theaters when they know it will be released online soon, and that directly affects the collection at the box office. This has emerged as a problem for producers because the production house struggles to get people to the theaters and face losses due to early releases on OTT platforms.
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Aamir Alters His Long-Term Strategy
Aamir has also clarified this is not only about ‘Sitare Zameen Par’ but will be applied in his future projects too.
After a theatrical release, he plans to wait for at least 12 weeks before he starts selling off his digital rights. Soon after the news of his decision broke out, discussions in Bollywood said that a commendable move was in place to encourage people to return to the theatres. Industry experts feel that if more actors and producers follow the cue shown by Aamir, then only the cinema industry can come out of the crisis created by OTT platforms. Though a few producers may feel this move shocking, fans and industry persons in general are at least expecting similar changes in other film industries like Tollywood.
