Earlier in the week, it was reported that Aamir Khan and co. have devised a strategic release for Sitaare Zameen Par. The actor, along with his distributor, were aiming to go the old school way with the idea to bring the film on 1000 – 1500 screens in India, and increase it over the weekend based on audience demand. However, in an interesting turn of events, Sitaare Zameen Par is now all set for a wider release all across the country.
According to sources close to the development, single screen owners, and non-national multiplex owners reached out to Aamir Khan with their willingness to screen Sitaare Zameen Par at their property from June 20. “Though the genre has its limitations in the post-pandemic, the exhibitors are confident that the Aamir Khan factor, coupled with strong content will draw audiences in larger numbers over the weekend. The exhibitor support for Sitaare Zameen Par is also coming from the ‘No OTT’ stance taken by Aamir Khan. The film will now release on 3000 to 3500 screens all across the country,” the source informed, quick to add that rather than being conservative, the team is now going wide to make the film reach out to the audience.
We hear that Aamir is going all out to bring out Sitaare Zameen Par in the best possible way to the cinema-going audience. “He heard out the exhibitors, who were not too excited by the idea of platform release in the modern world, and then discussed the wide release plan with his distributor partner. They collectively arrived at the thought of going all out, rather than picking up on just high-performing properties. The exhibitors too have assured complete support,” the source added.
With Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir is attempting a game-changer move by not selling the OTT rights to any platform, despite multiple offers. “He wants to keep it exclusive to the theatres. In-fact, Sitaare Zameen Par was initially made in association with Sony Pictures, but when the studio was not comfortable with the idea of ‘exclusive for big screen’, Aamir paid them off to acquire complete control over the film,” the source informed. Buzz is, Aamir paid a sum of Rs 30 crore to get the film out from the studio, to attempt the game-changing move of not selling digital rights to any partner.
“It’s a brave call to pay-off the partners. Aamir spent Rs 30 crore just to buy back the rights from the studio, to ensure that his risk yields healthy returns,” the source concluded. The advance bookings for Sitaare Zameen Par are expected to open on Tuesday, and the pricing too is expected to be much in check, to make the content accessible for the cine-goers. The film features Genelia Deshmukh as the female lead, and is directed by RS Prassana. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
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