Only two percent of population watches films in theatres, need to invest in more screens: Aamir Khan

SUPERSTAR Aamir Khan on Friday said India is a film loving country but the majority of its people lack access to cinema halls compared to countries like US and China which are way ahead when it comes to number of screens.

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On day two of the first World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) here, the 60-year-old actor participated in a session titled "Studios of the Future: Putting India on World Studio Map".

Aamir said there is a serious need for investment in infrastructure to boost the industry's growth.

"My belief is that we need to have a lot more theatres in India and theatres of different kinds. There are districts and vast areas in the country which don't have a single theatre. 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 actor said.

Aamir said India is way behind the United States and China in terms of cinema screen count.

"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,” Aamir said.