One of the most famous movies in China over the summer does not involve a Hollywood blockbusters nor with special effects or speeding cars or epic battle scenes. The movie was not from a Chinese production with a Chinese cast but it came from India's very own, Aamir Khan.
The Chinese audience was won over the simple yet compelling tale of the movie: "the true story of a man's quest to train two daughters to become world-class wrestles in India."
"Dangal," which tells the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Babita and Geeta, is a biographical sports drama on the former Indian wrestler and his daughter's struggle towards the glory of the Commonwealth Fames in the face of societal oppression.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan's "Dangal" was reported to be the first of India to hit big at the Chinese box office. It took more than $194 million in just two months, making it one of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time in China.
"Dangal clicked with the Chinese audience because of strong content as the film industry there is seeing a downward trend for in-house productions due to the lack of good content. Along with this, theme of women empowerment struck the right chord with cinema lovers there. Good content reigned the Chinese mainland and Dangal also received a rare extension from China to run beyond the 30-day window," Money Control highlighted.
With the success of "Dangal," Aamir Khan said that: "With any audience, you have to make a good film to connect. Ultimately that is what matters."
Meanwhile, the success of the Indian movie was considered as a competing factor from one of the China's competitor in Asia, reportedly stealing culture from China.
"China's development has been very comprehensive in terms of politics, economics and military," said Jiang Jingkui, director of the Southeast Asian Research Institute at Peking University.
"But in terms of soft power, India has done better than China," Mr. Jiang said. "Although India's economy is not as developed, they have put a huge emphasis on promoting their culture, including things like Buddhist traditions and yoga."
It can be recalled that China and India have recently went through a border spat but went to negotiate about it.
