On the second day of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (Waves) 2025, Hollywood veteran and Openheamer producer Charles Roven often struggles to achieve global traction. Speaking during a panel titled ‘Studio of the Future: Putting India on the World Studio Map’, Ravan said that India’s film industry mainly focuses on domestic audience.

“Your business is only in India and my business is worldwide,” said Rowan. “I make movies and materials, whether they go to streamers or motion pictures, and this is usually decided before I start production.

Rowan emphasized that most Indian filmmakers do not take into account projects with international access. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, who was also present in the session, agreed with Rowan’s assessment. “You are absolutely right,” Khan accepted.

However, Khan also highlighted the structural challenges that are facing Indian cinema. “India is a film-lover nation, but there is still a lack of the same theater in the vast areas,” he said. The actor said, “I believe we need a lot of theater and a variety of cinemas in India. There are districts and vast areas in the country that do not have a single theater,” the actor said.

Khan said that India falls far behind countries like America and China in terms of cinema screen count. It limits the capacity of the domestic box office and thus discourages large -scale investment for the purpose of global audiences.

One of the most discussed sessions at the summit, one of the sessions also included prominter Ritesh Sidhwani, Dinesh Vijan, nominee Malhotra, and PVR Inox founder Ajay Bijli.