Aamir Khan bats for diversity in film consumption, says he isn't OTT agnostic

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan said he doesn't have any biases against streaming platforms, and would rather be happy as long as audiences relish movies, be it in theatres, on OTT, or on YouTube.

Aamir spoke at the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, which took place in Delhi on Saturday. His comments come after his last film “Sitaare Zameen Par”, which garnered positive response, skipped an OTT release after completing its theatrical run.

It was later released on YouTube via a pay-per-view (PPV) model for Rs 100.

Explaining his decision, Aamir said he wanted to introduce a new model for the films. “I was doing it alone; I was not doing it as an industry move. It would be nice if the industry collectively tried to create a window for the pay-per-view. It will be helpful to the industry,” he said.

When asked about British star Hugh Grant’s critique of streaming platforms detracting from the communal joy of cinema, Aamir said he isn’t “agnostic” about the existence of the OTT medium.

“I’m not as judgemental. I feel all platforms are good. I’ve enjoyed watching films and shows on OTT as an audience. As an industry, we should reach a position where we are mature enough that we allow the consumer to decide where he wants to consume and how, that’s the ideal thing.

"Any industry cannot survive on rules and regulations; it’s not that by law they should go to the theatre to watch the film. For me, where you watch my material is not that important as long as you watch it …because I’m making material for people to watch and enjoy it. So, I’m not agnostic that OTT should not be there.” Aamir rather hails the “digital” boom in India and said it’s important to make the right use of it.

“In fact, digital has become part of our lives. If you’re not existing on digital, you’re pretty much not around, people don’t know if you’re there, you’re not relevant anymore. With technology you should move ahead but it should be used to your advantage as opposed to disadvantage. Worldwide you’ve different platforms like theatres, pay-per-view, OTT, and satellite. I feel it is up to to the audience,” the actor said.

Directed by R S Prasanna, “Sitaare Zameen Par” released in theatres across the country in June and earned over Rs 250 crore at the box office.

Billed as a spiritual sequel to the actor’s critically acclaimed 2007 movie “Taare Zameen Par”, “Sitaare Zameen Par” follows the journey of a basketball coach (Aamir), who mentors ten differently-abled individuals. The movie is a remake of THE Spanish film “Champions”.

The film also features Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar. Genelia D’Souza appears in a pivotal role. PTI KKP ATR ATR