'Sitaare Zameen Par' to be launched on YouTube

Agencies,Mumbai, July 31: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has announced that his latest release, Sitaare Zameen Par, will be available on YouTube Movies on demand following its theatrical run this Tuesday.

Starting 1 August, the film will stream exclusively on YouTube in India for INR.100, and in 38 international markets including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, among others, with pricing localised for each region, according to a press release.

Directed by R S Prasanna, Sitaare Zameen Par was released in cinemas across the country in June, earning over INR. 2.5 billion and receiving praise for its heartwarming story as well as its performances.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Aamir stated that only 2-3 percent of the country’s population watch films in theatres. He said that ever since the introduction of UPI, digital payments have become very convenient for Indians and he believed that this was the right time to launch on a digital platform. “That’s when I thought that YouTube is the platform almost everyone uses; you can access it on any device. Almost 550 million Indians visit YouTube every single day,” he said, adding, “I thought that if I land on YouTube, I can showcase my content everywhere and because of UPI, all Indians can easily pay for it.”

Aamir acknowledged that while streaming platforms have existed for some time, he was never convinced by the model they offered for showcasing Hindi films. He said, “Ever since Indian cinema has existed, it has only existed on one model — pay per view. We visit the theatre once, we pay once and we watch the film once. So I decided to replicate the same model that has been used in theatres on digital devices.”

He shared that it was with this intention that he launched his YouTube channel, Aamir Khan Talkies, a few months ago. He also claimed that with the price of INR 100 for Sitaare Zameen Par, the film becomes accessible to the masses. “It has always been my dream to reach every Indian at a reasonable price so they can afford it,” he said, adding, “I have called Aamir Khan Talkies ‘Janta ka theatre’ because it’s actually a personal theatre for people.”