Prosenjit Chatterjee On Sitaare Zameen Par's Theatre-Only Release: 'Aamir Can Take Risks'
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Aamir Khan's decision to delay the OTT release of Sitaare Zameen Par is praised by Prosenjit Chatterjee, who believes Aamir understands audience sensibilities.
Aamir Khan's film, Sitaare Zameen Par, a spiritual successor to his beloved 2007 film Taare Zameen Par, finally released on June 20, 2025. The film, inspired by the Spanish hit Champions (2018), has been receiving rave reviews. The Bollywood superstar has decided that his latest film will never be released on any streaming platform. It will have a theatre-only release.
Now, Prosenjit Chatterjee has lauded Aamir Khan for his approach to filmmaking. In a conversation with India Today, the veteran actor remarked that Aamir 'can take the risk" because he 'understands the pulse and sensibilities of the audiences." However, he also noted, 'nothing will change."
Prosenjit said, 'He can take the risk. He has been serving the industry for many years, and he understands the pulse and sensibilities of the audiences."
However, Prosenjit believes that Aamir's bold move is unlikely to bring about any real change. 'To save the theatrical business and cinema, he (Aamir Khan) is a person who can think this way or take this kind of risk. Nothing will change, a film will come on OTT and then on satellite television. That's how it works, that's how we reach our Indian audiences. But let's see how this goes (Sitaare Zameen Par's only-cinema model), and I hope it works," added Prosenjit.
In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha earlier, Aamir Khan had shared his thoughts on how the fast shift to OTT after the pandemic has affected theatre business. He explained that releasing films too soon online takes away from the cinema experience, and he strongly believes that good films deserve to be seen on the big screen.
In a candid conversation, Aamir Khan reflected on how the rise of OTT platforms has impacted the theatrical experience.
'I don't know any business where you offer your product, and if someone doesn't buy it, you tell them—don't worry, I'll drop it at your house for free in eight weeks," Aamir said, adding, 'It doesn't make sense to me. That's the reason many films aren't doing well in theatres."
He described the current situation as a 'famine and feast" model where either a few films do extremely well or most don't work at all. He believes the early OTT release trend has weakened the theatrical culture and, therefore, made a conscious choice to keep his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par exclusive to theatres.
'I believe in theatres. I believe in my audience. If you make a good film, people will come to watch it on the big screen."
Sitaare Zameen Par is a sports comedy drama film directed by R. S. Prasanna, and produced by Aamir Khan and Aparna Purohit. Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra and Simran Mangeshkar will make their Hindi cinema debut with the film.
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