Aamir Khan’s ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ to skip OTT and hit YouTube; Internet divided

Since Aamir Khan announced ‘Sitaare Zameen Par,’ fans have been eagerly waiting for the film to hit theatres. The title is a thematic sequel to his blockbuster, ‘Taare Zameen Par’. The film dealt with the subject of dyslexia. Meanwhile, the upcoming title will tackle the subject of Down Syndrome. The film is going to release on June 20 on the silver screen. Notably, it will skip an OTT release and opt for a pay-per-view model on YouTube.

A source disclosed the decision to The Hollywood Reporter. Instead of going for the usual OTT release after eight weeks of theatrical run, the film will go for a different model. Two months after the big-screen run, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ will be available for pay-per-view on YouTube. The source said, “Aamir doesn’t want to release his films directly on streaming after their theatrical run, as it discourages viewers from watching movies on the big screen. It is also a reason why there is no streaming logo on the poster of Sitaare Zameen Par.”

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This unconventional approach has left the internet divided. Soon after the word gained momentum, a Reddit thread emerged where users weighed in on the move. One user praised, “He’s refusing to release the movie for foreseeable future on normal OTT to make the audience interested choose to go to the theatre instead of thinking we’ll watch it when it comes to OTT. The audience that never was interested or in 50 50 mind will not be affected at all. I think OTT probably refused to accept a big window between theatre and OTT release. If this works in Aamir’s favour he might actually lead Bollywood in the right direction. The message isn’t buy it on YT for PPV the message is this won’t be on OTT any time soon so watch it in theatre.”

Aamir Khan’s New Model – Either watch Sitaare Zameen Par in the theatre or pay and watch it on YouTube. It will not be available on an OTT platform at all to stream. Thoughts?
byu/MiserableMidnight6 inBollyBlindsNGossip

On the other hand, several users trolled the move. One wrote, “Ideally Aamir’s new model should be making an original movie.” Another added, “I don’t think Aamir realises that he does not have a hardcore fan base. He’s most faded cause people are bored of him. SZP has to be top notch for it to be a hit.” Meanwhile, one user wrote, “As per the teaser it seems it’s cut and paste of the English version. So I don’t think there will be any changes to the comedy scenes. At least they could have changed the sport to, any trending sport in the country. Later he will comment. People don’t play basketball so they didn’t understand. Like Fighter director said, People didn’t travel in airplanes in india so they didn’t understand Fighter.”

Apart from Aamir, the film will feature Genelia Deshmukh and Darsheel Safary among others. RS Prassana has helmed the title. Additionally, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ draws inspiration from the Spanish film, ‘Champions.’

Also Read: Amitabh Bachchan opens up on facing ‘constant criticism’