Mumbai: On the second day of the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES), superstar Aamir Khan participated in a panel discussion titled “Studios of the Future: Putting India on World Studio Map” at JACC in Mumbai.
In the panel discussion, Aamir expressed his disappointment at the lack of theatres in India when compared to the population of the nation.
The ‘Lagaan’ actor compared the number of theatres in India with the US and China. With the help of estimated data, the actor highlighted the problem of movie screens in the nation.
“I have always believed that we have very few theatres for the size of the country and the number of people living in India. In India, we have around 10,000 screens. In the US, which is one-third of our population, they have 40,000 screens, and China has 90,000 screens compared to our 10,000. And even in this 10,000, half are in the South and half in the rest of the country. So, for a Hindi film, you have a maximum of 5,000 screens,” said Aamir Khan.
The actor further underlines the fact that the biggest hits of the Indian cinema have a theatrical footfall of only 2 per cent of the entire population.
“Our biggest hits over the years, no matter what language, have had a theatrical footfall of three crore people. That’s only 2 per cent of our entire population. Only 2% of our population in a country that is recognised as a film-loving country watches our biggest hits in theatres.”
The ‘Lagaan’ actor calls for investing in the theatres in several districts and towns of India.
“I think that one of the biggest issues that we faced over the decades is that we just don’t have enough screens, and according to me, that is what we should be investing in. My belief is that we need to have a lot more theatres in India and theatres of different kinds. There are districts and vast areas in the country that don’t have a single theatre,” said Aamir.
The ‘Lagaan’ actor believes India has huge potential in entertainment, but it can only be utilised if it has more theatrical screens in India.
“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, I can only hear about it,” added Aamir.
WAVES 2025 will witness participation from over 90 countries, with more than 10,000 delegates, 1,000 creators, 300+ companies, and 350+ startups.
The summit will feature 42 plenary sessions, 39 breakout sessions, and 32 masterclasses spanning diverse sectors including broadcasting, infotainment, AVGC-XR, films, and digital media.
