Aamir Khan Bats For More Viewers, But It Depends On Stars, Says Director Teja

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has called for increasing the number of cinema theatres in India to draw larger audiences to the big screen. Highlighting that currently only around 3 crore people watch films in theatres across the country, Aamir emphasized the need to expand this number. Director Teja echoes this sentiment, noting that while Baahubali achieved a rare feat of attracting nearly 4 crore viewers, most big films still hover around the 3 crore mark.

“With India’s population close to 150 crores, there’s huge potential to bring more viewers into theatres,” says Teja. “Even China has over 40,000 digital screens, whereas India has only about 9,000 screens. Ideally, we should cross at least 10,000 screens soon.”

Teja points out that in the Telugu states alone, there are about 1,500 theatres, and this number should increase further to meet demand. As someone who has run his single-screen theatre in Vizag for over a decade, he explains how he manages. “It’s tough at times, but I follow a yearly rotation strategy rather than tracking the profit and loss of each film,” he says.

However, Teja believes the real catalyst for growth lies with the stars themselves. “Most audiences come to theatres to watch star-driven films. So it’s high time superstars like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan do at least 2–3 films a year. Similarly, Telugu stars should also increase their output instead of doing one film every two years,” he observes.

He praises Prabhas for taking on more projects, which he says helps provide livelihoods to thousands of industry workers. Teja urges other leading actors like Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Jr NTR, Mahesh Babu, along with senior stars like Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna, to also raise the number of films they do. “Only stars have the power to revive the cinema-going culture and restore the glory of movie watching, not just in Telugu states but across India,” he asserts.

Besides more films and theatres, Teja stresses the importance of keeping ticket and food prices affordable. “In single-screen theatres, popcorn might cost around Rs 100, but in multiplexes, the same pack sells for over Rs 500. Add soft drinks and nachos, and a family easily ends up spending Rs 1,000 or more, which is too expensive for middle-class audiences and youngsters,” he points out.

While another leading exhibitor says, "New films releasing on OTT after just 4 weeks, have depleted the footfalls in theatres, while social media trolls of new movies have also dented the viewership in Telugu states. With films just drawing audiences for 3 or four days' openings or a maximum of a week, I think more theatres is wishful thinking and it would be difficult to add more screens," he concludes