Theatre Woes: Aamir Khan Sounds the Alarm

The Indian film industry faces a severe shortage of cinemas, with the majority of its people lacking access to theatres. The 60-year-old superstar, aamir khan, highlighted the need for investment in infrastructure to boost the industry’s growth during a session at the first World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES).

1. The majority of Indians lack access to cinemas, with many areas having no theatres at all.
2. There are districts and vast areas in the country which don’t have a single theatre.
3. Investment in infrastructure is necessary to boost the industry’s growth.

“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,”

Aamir Khan further highlighted that India is way behind the United States and China in terms of cinema screen count, with the US having one-third the population of India and China having 90,000 screens.

For blockbuster movies, only a tiny fraction of Indians are able to watch them in theatres, with only two per cent of the population watching the biggest hits in theatres.

“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.