India needs to invest in more theatres, says Aamir Khan during WAVES summit

Superstar Aamir Khan on Friday said India is a film loving country but the majority of its people lack access to cinemas.

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.

"I feel that 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.

The superstar highlighted that 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. 

Even for blockbuster movies, only a tiny fraction of Indians are able to watch them in theatres, he noted.

"Only two per cent of the population in our country, which is recognised as a film loving country, watches our biggest hits in theatres. Where is the rest -- 98 per cent -- watching a movie?" he asked.

He also lamented that many areas in India, including regions like Konkan, have no theatres at all.

"People in those areas will hear about the films, will see the chatter online but there is no way to watch them... that's a very unfortunate situation. So the first thing we need to do is that we must have more screens," Aamir added.

On the first day of the summit, Aamir's contemporary Shah Rukh Khan had also batted for more theatres in the country. 

"I still believe the call of the day is simpler, cheaper theatres in smaller towns and cities so that we can showcase Indian films in whichever language to a larger majority of Indians for cheaper rates. Otherwise, it's becoming very expensive, only in big towns," he said.

At the session, Aamir was joined by producers Ritesh Sidhwani, Dinesh Vijan, Namit Malhotra, PVR Inox founder Ajay Bijli and  American film producer Charles Roven.