WAVES 2025: Aamir Khan Reveals Why India Is Lagging Behind Global Cinema, Makes THIS Request

On May 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the much-awaited event WAVES 2025. It's a first-of-its-kind four-day event, which witnessed celebrities from across the industries, including Mohanlal, Chiranjeevi, Rajinikanth, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone and several others. On day 2 (May 2), Aamir Khan participated in a panel discussion alongside Ritesh Sidhwani and Ajay Bijli, the founder of PVR INOX. The Bollywood actor used the platform to raise a critical issue and how India is lagging behind the global cinema.

Aamir pointed out that India has only around 10,000 cinema screens, with approximately 9,200 being functional, despite having a population of over 1.4 billion. In contrast, the United States, with about one-fourth of India’s population, has 40,000 screens, while China has a staggering 90,000 screens. He emphasised how this imbalance affects the reach of Indian cinema.

"Our biggest hits over the years, no matter which film it is, have had a theatrical footfall of 3 crore people or 3 and a half crore people. Am I saying the right thing? That's what percentage of our population? 2 per cent of our population in a country which is recognised as a film-loving country, watch in theatres. So, where is the remaining 98 per cent watching the film?" he explained

Going forward, Aamir Khan further added, Khan, "So my belief has always been that we need to have a lot more theatres in India and theatres of different kinds and there are so many districts, there are tracts of areas in India and vast areas which don't have a single theatre for people to watch films in. I'll go to the office now. You get to work. No, you can open those theatres, people will come, and you will hear. That's what he is saying."

Stating an example, he quipped, "If I am living in the Konkan area, there is no theatre there. I can hear about the film. I can see the chatter online. But I can't watch it. There is no way can watch it. Unless I go into piracy. So legally, it is not possible for me to watch the film.

Aamir concluded by urging investment in building more theatres across India, saying, "India has massive potential, but it can only be realised if there are enough points of sale, in this case, cinema halls, for people to access and enjoy films legally and conveniently. If you don't, then I just can't watch the film. I can hear about it."

Besides Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor Khan will also take part in day 2 sessions.

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