Aamir Khan reveals he wants to strike OTT deal for Sitaare Zameen Par after all, says three months after YouTube is ideal window

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He said, “I’m not trying to eat into anyone’s space, I’m just trying to create a space that should have been there to begin with. The reason PPV didn’t take off is because our electronic payments weren’t in place, but because of UPI, there’s a huge difference. All of us use electronic modes of payment. Now is the time to create a window that exists in the rest of the world.”

Asked if audience habits, particularly around paying money for content on YouTube, was a concern for him, he said, “I was worried about that, and these were concerns that were thrown at me when I came up with this idea, but I really wanted to give it my best shot. If this succeeds, the creative people in India would have an additional window of pay-per-view before they go to OTT, and that’s what I feel ideally should be the case.”

Aamir was also asked about his equation with streamers following the impasse, and he said, “The bulk of India does not subscribe to OTT platforms, but there is a section that does, and I’m one of them. My only issue is that the window is too short, and it doesn’t allow for a pay-per-view window. We need a pay-per-view window between theatrical and OTT, and that’s what I’m pushing to create. We released in theatres in June, and after 45 days, we released on YouTube, and then I haven’t made an OTT sale. When I spoke to OTT channels, I said I would like to come after six months. But none of them were comfortable with that period. They wanted two months, and they weren’t ready to go ahead with the deal.”

The movie also doesn’t shy away from showing harsh workplace realities. Gulshan’s students, adults, and employed are not just surviving but thriving, yet they are not immune to exploitation

He continued, “I still feel there is an audience that would watch it on Netflix or Amazon, when it does come on an OTT channel, if they so decide. But the window needs to be six months or five months. My first priority is theatres, and I feel every film needs to be handled differently… Once the theatrical run is exhausted, that’s when I want to come on pay-per-view, and that’s a window that can be flexible. I should certainly not be below six weeks. And then, you should give pay-per-view a good three months, and then the film can come on OTT. That’s the ideal window.”

Aamir refused to divulge any details about how the movie has been performing on YouTube, but said, “It’s doing well. It’s doing way beyond what YouTube expected. I wouldn’t be able to give numbers. I would’ve loved to.” He continued, “We have a marketing budget for this. YouTube is putting its strength behind this, and YouTube is putting its marketing budget for this. There is a separate budget for the theatrical release and a separate budget for the YouTube release. All the people I’ve met are really excited about this, they’re just waiting to see the results.”

His goal with this release strategy, Aamir said, is to make his movie available to audiences across the globe, because most of them would not be able to access it otherwise. YouTube has a 500 million-strong user base in India alone, while Netflix has 12 million subscribers in India. Aamir said that the industry is waiting to watch if this gamble pays off, and if it does, he will have created a new distribution model that could really benefit independent filmmakers. Asked finally if he’s open to a streaming release for Sitaare Zameen Par, he said, “Why not? I’ve always wanted my films to come on OTT platforms, but the period has to be six months.”

Aamir had previously apologised for misleading the public about his theatre-only release strategy for the film. He said that he wanted to preserve the film’s business, without allowing a subsequent home video release to cannibalise it.