Aamir Khan reveals Sitaare Zameen Par was made on a budget of Rs 122 crore, says his partner backed out after he rejected OTT deals: ‘I had to buy them out’

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The Lagaan actor broke down his budget for the film and said, “We have a marketing budget for this, and YouTube is putting its strength behind this, and YouTube is also putting up a marketing budget for this. There’s a separate budget for the theatrical release and a separate budget for the YouTube release.” Aamir revealed that the initial budget for the film was $11 million (Rs 96 crore), but a major cost came out of nowhere once his partners learnt that he wasn’t going to accept the OTT deal. He said, “I had to pay a price also because I had a partner with me earlier, and they weren’t very keen on this rash idea of mine. They didn’t like me turning down money, so they preferred that I buy them out, and so therefore the film has actually cost me about $14 million (Rs 122 crore); let’s say between $14 and $15 million (Rs 122 cr to Rs 133 cr) is what the cost of the film for me is.”

Upon learning this, the host asked him what the split between him and YouTube is for the film, and while Aamir didn’t reveal the exact number, he hinted that it is a favourable deal for him and better than the traditional 50-50 split between filmmakers and theatres. The actor highlighted that this move will create a path forward for other filmmakers to successfully distribute their content. “I think that one of the biggest steps that we’ve already taken is that today my film is actually available across not just India, but outside of India. It also is a great opportunity for younger filmmakers who are making films, indie films which don’t have huge stars. They just don’t get distribution in theatres.”

Now since the movie is already out on YouTube for the price of Rs 100, it won’t presumably get the same deal it was initially offered by OTT platforms. As per trade analyst Komal Nahta, Prime Video offered Rs 120 crore for the film but Aamir turned down the deal.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film’s worldwide collection currently stands at Rs 276 crore. Directed by RS Prasanna, the cast of the film includes Aamir, Genelia Deshmukh, and ten debutantes, namely, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar. The music has been composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, and the lyrics have been written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.