Aamir Khan held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that his latest Sitaare Zameen Par will land on YouTube on August 1 under the pay-per-view model at a price of Rs 100. The actor also confirmed that he was offered Rs 125 crore by an OTT platform for the streaming rights of the film.
During the event, Aamir was also asked if the earlier reports of him being offered about Rs 120 crore by an OTT platform to acquire the film were true to which the actor replied, “Your numbers are in the ballpark. But I have a lot of confidence in (pay-per-view) model. I don't want Rs 125 crore of a big company, I want Rs 100 from the audience of our country.”
“I trust my work and I trust my audience. If my work is worth it, the audience will first watch the film in theatre and then watch it on YouTube on pay per view,” he added.
He further explained, "The OTT model of releasing the film on streaming eight weeks after its theatrical run doesn’t sit well with me. Cinema gets hurt by it. Such a deal will benefit only me. I can't do it. It'll affect the industry in the long run. Hence, I refused.”
Earlier, during the promotions of Sitaare Zameen Par, journalists had asked Aamir if he would be going for a pay-per-view model on YouTube post the film's theatrical release. At the time, Aamir had denied any such reports. "I am sorry, I lied," the actor said with a smile. "I had to protect the film's theatrical business hence I couldn't comment on the matter at the time."
Directed by RS Prasanna and written by Divy Nidhi Sharma, Sitaare Zameen Par stars Aamir Khan in the lead along with Genelia Deshmukh and introduces ten new faces.
