Hansal Mehta says Aamir Khan's decision of releasing Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube is ‘not a threat to anyone': ‘It deserves applause, not knee‑jerk criticism'

Indian Express

6 days ago

Actor Aamir Khan waged a war against the current OTT-dominant landscape long before Sitaare Zameen Par's release in theatres. He rejected a huge OTT deal and said that he wanted to bring back the theatre-watching experience, and in hindsight the film did pretty well considering the scale and overall narrative. Now Aamir has announced that Sitaare Zameen Par will be available to all on YouTube via a pay-per-view model and won't be released on any major OTT platforms. The move is bold, and filmmaker Hansal Mehta is all for it. The veteran director expressed his support on X (formerly Twitter), praising Aamir's efforts to challenge the system.
Hansal shot straight to the point and wrote on X, 'Aamir Khan releasing Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube as a pay‑per‑view title after its theatrical run is not a threat to anyone. It's a smart, forward‑looking move that deserves applause, not knee‑jerk criticism.' He stated that many 'thoughtful films' fall through the cracks in the system and blamed the current movie-watching practices prevalent in the country for it. 'So many thoughtful films vanish or languish. That's neither sustainable nor fair to the diversity of work we produce. If this model works, it will embolden more producers to back films that don't follow the herd mentality currently dominating the sector.'
Aamir Khan releasing Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube as a pay‑per‑view title after its theatrical run is not a threat to anyone. It's a smart, forward‑looking move that deserves applause, not knee‑jerk criticism.
Our ecosystem is skewed toward instant gratification and a handful…
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) July 31, 2025
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Hansal Mehta pointed a finger at the overall business model and the ever-decreasing attention span of the viewers and said that the former is actually facilitating the latter, making things even worse. 'Our ecosystem is skewed toward instant gratification and a handful of giant spectacles. Theatrical windows are treated like rigid commandments, while OTT has become the only post‑theatrical refuge.' Hansal then proceeded to lay out several points that highlight what Aamir's decision can cause and why it is important.
Even during the road to Sitaare Zameen Par's release, Aamir Khan had expressed his concern about the kind of films that were working in theatres and the kind that were going straight to OTT in the matter of a few days or weeks. He told Galatta Plus, 'My film always releases at a time when it's completely ill-timed. When my comedy film comes out, action films are working. So I am constantly stressed that I don't know right now everyone wants to see action. The last 12 films have been action and blockbusters. So while I believe that it's a very heartwarming and beautiful story that will connect very deeply with people, that's what I am hoping. But right now, everyone wants to see action films.'
Sitaare Zameen Par managed to hold its own during the theatrical run and has earned upwards of Rs 260 crore worldwide. Directed by RS Prasanna, the cast of the film includes Aamir Khan, Genelia Deshmukh, and ten debutantes, namely, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar. The music has been composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, and the lyrics have been written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.