Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan on Friday voiced concern over the limited access Indians have to cinema halls, noting that only 2 percent of the country’s population watches films in theatres. Speaking on the second day of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 in Mumbai, the actor highlighted the urgent need for infrastructure development to help Indian cinema reach its true potential.

This PTI report captures Khan’s observations during a session titled “Studios of the Future: Putting India on World Studio Map”, where he emphasised how India, despite being a film-loving nation, lags far behind countries like the United States and China in terms of theatre screens per capita. “We need to realise that only two per cent of our population actually watches films in theatres. That’s shockingly low,” he said, drawing attention to the infrastructural gap.

The 60-year-old actor stressed that if India hopes to become a serious player in the global audio-visual space, there must be significant investment in building new cinema halls and modernising existing ones. “We’re a country that loves stories, music, emotions—but the lack of access to big screens is holding us back. The US and China have invested heavily in theatres, and that allows their industries to flourish and cater to diverse audiences,” Khan noted.

Aamir also addressed the broader challenge of putting India on the global studio map, stating that while Indian talent and storytelling have world-class potential, the lack of high-end infrastructure and limited screen density prevents many films from achieving commercial success. “More screens mean more reach, and that translates into greater confidence for filmmakers to experiment and grow,” he said.

The session, attended by top studio executives, producers, and media professionals, sparked a broader conversation around public-private partnerships and government policies that could enable faster development of cinema infrastructure, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

WAVES 2025, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is India’s flagship summit for the audio-visual and entertainment sector, witnessing participation from over 90 countries. With more than 10,000 delegates, including 1,000 creators and 300+ companies, the event aims to position India as a global creative powerhouse through 42 plenary sessions, 39 breakouts, and 32 masterclasses covering cinema, OTT, AVGC-XR, and broadcasting.