The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025 witnessed a glittering celebration of talent, humour, and heartfelt cinema. Among the many highlights of the evening was comedian Sapan Verma’s opening monologue, where he hilariously roasted several Bollywood stars including Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Malaika Arora. The event was attended by prominent personalities like Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Jaideep Ahlawat, with fans getting glimpses of the night through photos and videos that quickly went viral online.
Sapan Verma’s Roast of Aamir Khan
In his now-viral video, Sapan Verma took aim at Aamir Khan’s intensive promotional campaign for Sitaare Zameen Par. He joked, “Aamir Khan, as we all know, was so good this year in all the 450 interviews he did to promote Sitaare Zameen Par. Sir, you did so much promotion, I was worried. My doorbell rang—I thought you’d personally come to tell me to watch the film.”
The comedian further roasted Aamir’s bold decision to reject a ₹120 crore OTT offer and release the film directly on YouTube. “You know what ₹100 crore means, right? Akshay Kumar’s monthly salary,” he quipped, leaving the audience in splits.
Aamir’s YouTube Release Strategy
Indeed, Aamir made headlines for turning down a massive deal from Amazon Prime Video to digitally release Sitaare Zameen Par. Instead, he chose to make the film available on YouTube for ₹100 per view. Explaining the move, Aamir stated, “Every film under Aamir Khan Productions will be released on YouTube after its theatrical run, at a minimal cost.”
Directed by RS Prasanna, the film is a spiritual sequel to Taare Zameen Par, featuring Genelia Deshmukh and a cast of specially abled debutants. An official remake of the Spanish film Campeones, it tells the story of a basketball coach who trains a team of disabled players. The film received critical acclaim and grossed ₹267.52 crore at the box office.
IFFM Awards: Celebrating the Best of Indian Talent
At IFFM, Aamir Khan was honoured with the Excellence in Cinema Award. Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound dominated the awards night, winning Best Film and Best Director. Abhishek Bachchan won Best Actor (Film) for I Want To Talk, while Jaideep Ahlawat clinched Best Actor (Series) for Paatal Lok Season 2.