It’s hard to believe how far we have come, from ‘Raja Harishchandra’ in 1913 to movies like Dangal and Bajrangi Bhaijaan in 2016 and 2017, grossing more than 2000 and 800 crores worldwide. Main reason behind these high numbers had been their overseas success. Like in case of ‘Dangal,’ the movie has collected 511 crores in Indian market while the rest 1,513 crores has been from other overseas countries, especially China. These figures show that the love for Bollywood movies has transcended all borders and it now attracts millions around the world.
Now, when we talk about China and Bollywood, we can’t help but mention Dangal because that’s where this love affair started. The top 50 highest-grossing films in Chinese history are all from China, Hong Kong, or the United States, with the exception of “Dangal,” which ranks as No. 36. With this, amongst all Bollywood superstars, Amir Khan is becoming a household name in China. Also, China being a country with biggest female audience, it’s no surprise that Amir Khan’s tale of women empowerment brought in the big box office receipt.
With this, another Amir Khan movie that cemented Bollywood’s place in china was the 2017 release ‘Secret Superstar.’ Secret Superstar shockingly beat 8th instalment of Star Wars franchise ‘The Last Jedi.’ China accounted for 60% of film’s worldwide box office collection which is about 8 times more than what it earned in India.
In a recent interview, Mr. R Balki said that the main reason behind Indian movies doing well amongst Chinese audience is the emotional connect and the similar cultural background shared between the two. Indian movies that have done well in China are focused on the conservative rural practices which also appeals to Chinese public who, have their own share of traditional values hindering urban progress. Movies like Padman and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha have worked well because even in fast-developing countries like China and India people are too shy to talk about sanitary pads and because they also face the problem of widespread unhygienic toilets. Also, like in the movie ‘Hindi Medium,’ Chinese parents face similar struggles while enrolling their children in good junior school.
Another reason for the success of these movies has been credited to the nostalgia felt by older generation who grew up watching the first wave of Indian cinema with movies like Kaala Patthar and Caravan being the most famous.
Bond between Bollywood and Chinese film industry is only growing stronger with movies like ‘Xuan Zang’ and ‘Kung Fu Yoga,’ and with China trying to emulate and compete with the Hollywood, sharing their 41,000 theatres with Bollywood productions on a profit sharing basis is a win-win situation for both. Recently, Shahrukh went to China for the International Film Festival held in Beijing, which closed with his film ‘Zero.’ There he spoke at a panel on Indian and Chinese producers making movies together, and we hope for this dream to soon come true.
