Aamir Khan changes the game with YouTube release, bypassing theatre trap

The release of his movie on YouTube bypasses the vicious circle of low screen density and poor monetisation that Indian films are stuck in

On August 1, R S Prasanna’s Sitaare Zameen Par was released on Aamir Khan Talkies on YouTube. To watch it, you pay around ₹100. The film is available at an “affordable” price in 38 other countries. YouTube, the world’s largest streaming platform with 2.7 billion users, will be rolling it out in more markets. 

In India, over 445 million people were on YouTube in April, according to Comscore data. If even one per cent of them pay, the film would make over ₹44 crore. Factor in the rest of the world, and it should, at a very conservative estimate, cross