Even if my film is a huge hit, only 3% of India sees it; what about the rest?

Aamir Khan Productions had refused to enter any streaming deal before the release of Sitaare Zameen Par, wanting the film to find its audience in theatres. Earlier this week, after the film's success, the company announced its streaming plan. Sitaare Zameen Par will be released on YouTube's movies-on-demand service on August 1 at ₹100 per view. Actor-producer Aamir Khan and YouTube India's Country Managing Director Gunjan Soni speak with Vanita Kohli-Khandekar in Mumbai to unpack the move.

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What is the logic behind putting Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube?

Aamir Khan: About 15 years ago, I came across some statistics that were quite shocking. The biggest hit in Hindi cinema gets a footfall of roughly 30-35 million people—that's just 2-3 per cent of India's population. We aren't able to serve this large country through theatrical releases because India has very few theatres. (Note: India has 8,700 screens compared to 80,000 in China and 38,000 in the US.) Even if my film is a huge hit, only 2-3 per cent of the population sees it. How do I reach the remaining 97 per cent? As creative people, we make our films with a lot of love and want to reach everyone.

Back then, there was pay-per-view on Tata Sky and Dish TV, but the payment gateways and the whole process were very cumbersome. So I didn't go ahead with the idea. Now, it's the perfect time for three reasons. One, India is now well-versed in electronic payments, thanks to our government bringing in Unified Payments Interface. Two, internet penetration has grown, which is imperative if you want to use digital as a medium to reach everyone. (Note: 523 million Indians were online in April 2025, according to Comscore.) Three, I was looking for a platform strong and large enough to potentially reach the maximum audience in the country. YouTube came to India in 2008 and has grown dramatically. When these three came together, I realised the time was right. I reached out to YouTube, and they came on board.

What does this mean for YouTube?