Mumbai: Actor Aamir Khan has admitted that he already knew about the release of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ on YouTube after its theatrical run.
This is in contrast to the actor’s earlier statement during the promotions when he had claimed that the film would not be available on any platform for at least six months.
“I fold my hands and apologise because I lied when I said Sitaare Zameen Par wouldn’t be released on YouTube. I did it because I had no other choice. I had to protect the film’s theatrical business. I am very loyal to theatres, my life began with cinema. So, I have always strived to protect the theatrical business of my films. Still, I apologise because I had to lie. Otherwise, my dreams for this film would’ve ended there,” the actor said on Tuesday during a presser to announce the release of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ on YouTube.
He added, “There is a great difference between the pay-per-view model and the subscription model. When I release a film after 8 weeks on a subscription model, people aren’t buying my film. They’re only subscribing to the OTT platform. It wouldn’t matter if someone wants to watch it or doesn’t by then. I don’t want Rs 125 crore from a big company; I want Rs 100 from my audience. I believe the subscription model is only causing us harm.”
“The OTT platforms are mostly interested in buying films featuring big stars. Where does everyone else go?” he concluded.
‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ will release on YouTube on August 1 and one can watch the film for Rs 100.
Directed by R S Prasanna, the film, a spiritual sequel to the critically acclaimed film ‘Taare Zameen Par’, also stars Genelia D’Souza, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar.