Aamir Khan has sparked a fresh debate around India’s exhibition ecosystem after saying the country needs many more cinema halls, but the comment has now drawn a sharp public response from exhibitor and distributor Akkshay Rathie.
The exchange has put the spotlight back on a long running question in Bollywood: is the bottleneck really the number of screens, or is it the consistency of mass appealing content that can sustain new theatres beyond metros?
The discussion began with Aamir’s recent interview with Variety India, where he spoke about what he called structural limitations in Indian cinema’s screen count, and why that impacts box office potential across districts and smaller centres.
Aamir Khan On Why India Needs More Cinema Halls
In the interview, Aamir underlined how India’s scale and linguistic diversity demands far more outlets for theatrical releases. He said, “India’s a huge country; it’s like a continent, it’s massive and each state has its own language, its own culture, its own films. So, I really feel that in a country like India, we need many more cinema halls. More outlets, so that we can reach a lot more people. If you want to compete with China, for example, they have, I think, one lakh screens.”
He also contrasted it with India’s current footprint, adding, “We are at 9,000 screens. What is the comparison? We are one-tenth their size in outlets. Which is why one big film when in China does huge business; it does two billion US dollars. Just in China, not in the rest of the world. Just in China, big films do that kind of business.”
Bringing in a recent blockbuster example, Aamir said, “Let’s take the example of Dhurandhar, which has done around Rs 1,000 crore. Now, imagine if it had been released in not 5,000 screens but in 15,000 screens. Massive!”
Exhibitor Akkshay Rathie Calls Out Aamir Khan’s Argument
Rathie responded on X, questioning how many recent Aamir backed titles truly demanded an all India theatrical footprint. He wrote, “With due respect, which is the last film you made, which warranted a release in each of the 9000 + screens in India? Or even in the 4500 odd screens in the Hindi speaking markets? Happy Patel, Laapata Ladies, Sitaare Zameen Par etc have had very limited metro focussed releases & been completely irrelevant for the long tail of the existent exhibition sector.”
He further argued that infrastructure can come quickly if the content consistently drives footfalls, stating, “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 and released with some consistency.”
Rathie concluded by wishing Aamir well for upcoming titles, writing, “Best wishes for Ek Din, Lahore 1947 andwhatever you choose to make next.”
Stay tuned with us for the latest news, Hindi box office news, Hollywood news, OTT news, the latest Bollywood news, and the latest box office news.
