On the second day of the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit at WAVES, Aamir Khan took part in a session called “Studios of the Future: Positioning India on the Global Studio Map.”
Aamir Khan calls for more theatres to unlock India’s film industry potential; says, “There are regions and large areas across the country that lack even a single theatre”
Aamir stated that there is a critical need for investment in infrastructure to accelerate the growth of the industry. He said, “I firmly believe that India needs many more theatres, including a variety of types. There are regions and large areas across the country that lack even a single theatre.”
The actor shared, “I feel that whatever issues we have faced over the decades is just about having more screens. And according to me, that is what we should be investing in. India has huge potential but that can only be realised when you have more screens across the country. If you don’t, then people won’t watch the films.”
The superstar emphasized that India lags far behind the United States and China when it comes to the number of cinema screens.
Aamir stated, “For the size of the country and the number of people living here, we have very few theatres. I think we have around 10,000 screens. In the US, which has one-third the population of India, they have 40,000 screens. So they are way ahead of us. China has 90,000 screens. Now, even in this 10,000, half of them are in the South and the other half is in the rest of the country. So for a Hindi film typically, it is around 5,000 screens.”
He also pointed out that even for blockbuster movies, only a small portion of Indians have the opportunity to watch them in theatres. He questioned, “Only two per cent of the population in our country, which is recognised as a film loving country, watches our biggest hits in theatres. Where is the rest 98 per cent watching a movie?”
He also expressed concern that many areas in India, including regions like Konkan, have no theatres whatsoever. Aamir added, “People in those areas will hear about the films, will see the chatter online but there is no way to watch them… that’s a very unfortunate situation. So the first thing we need to do is that we must have more screens.”
On the summit’s first day, Aamir’s peer Shah Rukh Khan had also advocated for the need for more theatres in the country. He further stated, “I still believe the call of the day is simpler, cheaper theatres in smaller towns and cities so that we can showcase Indian films in whichever language to a larger majority of Indians for cheaper rates. Otherwise, it’s becoming very expensive, only in big towns.”
During the session, Aamir was joined by producers Ritesh Sidhwani, Dinesh Vijan, Namit Malhotra, PVR Inox founder Ajay Bijli, and American film producer Charles Roven.
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