One of Bollywood’s biggest stars says people illegally downloading his films helped grow his audience internationally, while technology is helping fans in India find new ways to watch his movies.
Aamir Khan has produced, directed and acted in some of Bollywood’s biggest films including 3 Idiots, Lagaan, PK and Dangal.
Khan is in Australia as the guest of honour for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, which will feature a major retrospective of his work as well as featuring his latest film, Sitaare Zameen Par.
While audiences have traditionally watched his work on big screen,the World new audiences had found his films on smaller screens.
He said his film 3 Idiots “went viral all over the place” thanks to people illegally downloading it.
“My audience grew a lot in the east in countries like China, Singapore, and Japan, Korea,” Khan said.
“It happened, quite honestly, thanks to piracy.
His latest film Sitaare Zameen Par (Stars on Earth) has been released on YouTube at a cost of 100 rupees ($2) per view.
Films from his back catalogue are also expected to become available.
He said increasing internet access in India and the growing number of electronic payments inspired the idea.
More than 419 million people use the platform in India, making it YouTube’s biggest audience in the world.
“As a creative person, I want my film to be able to reach everyone across the country in India,” he said.
“Now is the time finally where my film can reach a large audience and I think that really helps cinema on the whole.”
