Aamir Khan’s upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par may have struck an emotional chord with audiences, but it has also sparked controversy on social media. Just after the trailer dropped, netizens pointed out that the film appears to be a frame by frame remake of the 2023 Hollywood film Champions, which itself was an English language adaptation of the Spanish film Campeones.
The film is again a hot topic for controversy and this time, for its OTT release strategy. According to a Business Today report, the film will not release on popular OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+ Hotstar. Instead, it will be available on YouTube pay-per-view following its theatrical run.
The report further described this move of the makers as a ‘power play to control pricing, release windows, and viewer data’. This would mean that those fans who generally wait for films to arrive on OTT after a theatrical release will now have to either book their tickets or pay to watch Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube.
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
Several social media users voiced their displeasure. One user wrote, “One of the dumbest moves Ive ever seen. This movie is purely banking on it being portrayed as a succesor to Sitare Zameen Par. The script is boring for today’s standards, the trailer genuinely had me asleep. This is gonna flop huge and its gonna end Aamirs career, but I can’t believe he is taking such a gamble on a remake mid movie.”
Another commented, “Help me understand the logic, the revenue from selling the OTT rights to Netflix or Prime would be lesser than the Youtube model because that many people will pay to watch the movie on YouTube?”
Critics also accused the actor of being out of touch with current trends, “I don’t think Aamir realises that he does not have a hardcore fan base anymore,” a comment read.
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Adding to the film’s troubles, earlier some users have resurfaced old photos and videos of Khan meeting Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdogan in 2020 during his visit to shoot portions of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha,’ which had previously generated controversy due to Turkey’s friendly relations with Pakistan.
Directed by R.S. Prasanna, it also stars Genelia Deshmukh. The film also marks the debut of ten fresh faces including Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar. It is set to hit the theaters on June 20, 2025.
