Exhibitor Shifts Blame On Filmmakers In Response To Aamir Khan's 'India Lacks Theatres' Remark: Hope To See You Play Your Part In It...

Aamir Khan, who is one of India's leading superstars and even a film producer, ruffled some feathers with his suggestions on driving more business from theatres. Speaking at a recent interview, the 60-year-old actor opined that movies are unable to do business to their full potential due to India's lack of infrastructure to support them. However, in a February 7 post, film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi fact-checked the actor in a long, unsparring note.

In his note, the film exhibitor counter-questioned Aamir Khan's claims that Dhurandhar would have done more business if it were released on many more screens. Akshaye questioned the actor for choosing a ‘metro-focussed’ release for his productions, Happy Patel, Laapata Ladies, Sitaare Zameen Par, which were distributed in less than 4500 screens in Hindi-speaking areas. He argued, “Trust me when I say this, sir - Indian business entities are enterprising enough to build the infrastructure you're talking about in record time, but the fuel for it is content that finds appeal with the grassroots of our markets, being made & released with some consistency."

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Referring to Aamir's example of Dhurandhar, Rathi commented, “How many films in an year do the kind of numbers that Dhurandhar did? Or have as wide a geographical impact in terms of footfalls in cities, towns & villages that have a cinema hall today? Can cinemas, which require crores of rupees in capex to be built & have high operating costs be made and maintained for 3-4 such films in an year which create significant impact on the P&L?"

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The exhibitor also claimed that if the filmmakers begin making movies that require more than the number of screens currently present in India, there is ample infrastructure to support the demand. He concluded by writing, “I promise, I respect you from the bottom of my heart for the amazing films you've made back in the day, many of which continue to be my all time favourites. However, this statement needed to be called out, because it has been stated and repeated illogically over the years. Yes, we need thousands of more screens, but before that, we need films that can enable them to be built! Hope to see you play your part in it. We'll definitely do our bit. Best wishes for Ek Din, Lahore 1947 & whatever you choose to make next.”  

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For the unversed, in an earlier interview with Variety India, Aamir Khan argued that India lacks a number of cinema screens.