No 'Dangal' with Bollywood: Hindi films are a significant soft export to China

The Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal had all the ingredients that could make Chinese movie buffs loosen their purse strings. The film collected close to Rs 860 crore in the two midweekends of May, according to Box Office Mojo, a movie database.

Dangal was released across some 9,000 theatres in China in the first week of May. The film has reportedly collected close to Rs 1,500 crore from the country.

“China has about 44,000 screens and they are always on the lookout for good content,” says Sushilkumar Agrawal, CEO, Ultra Media & Entertainment.

“Dangal has struck an emotional chord with the Chinese audience. People there liked the patriotism shown in the film but, by and large, they loved the aspirational value in it displayed throughout,” Agrawal told ET Magazine.

Dangal is the first Indian movie to have received such a resounding success in China. The tale of a gritty, middle-aged father, who wants his feisty daughters to be professional wrestlers, mesmerised the Chinese.

“Dangal is about parenting, dreams coming true and a bit of feminism,” says Gurgaon-based Amit Li Jian, chairman of Draphant, a consultancy facilitating the entry of Chinese companies to India, about the reasons for the film’s popularity in China. “Aamir is the only Indian star famous in China.”

“China can be a good market for Indian movies as we are culturally similar,” says Ajit Thakur, CEO of Trinity Pictures, a subsidiary of Eros International. “Love stories, slice-of-life movies and comedy films would do well in China. Action-packed movies may not be so well-received as the Chinese are exposed to Hollywood movies.”



Apart from Dangal, a few other Bollywood films have also done well in China in the past: PK (China collection: Rs 123 crore), 3 Idiots (Rs 16 crore), Dhoom:3 (Rs 24 crore), Baahubali: The Beginning (Rs 7 crore) and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Fan (Rs 1.49 crore).

Crossing the Wall
“The Chinese have been patronising Bollywood films for some time now. Their production values and lucid storytelling format make the Chinese associate with it instantly,” says Agrawal.

Indian studios have started seeing immense opportunities in China. Eros’ Trinity Pictures has tied up with China’s Peacock Mountain Culture & Media Ltd and Huaxia Film Distribution to produce two cross-cultural movies. Several such partnerships (between Indian and Chinese production houses) are expected over the next few years.

The Chinese government allows only 34 foreign film releases on its shores every year. A lion’s share of this quota is grabbed by Hollywood movies currently. Beyond that, the Chinese buy pirated DVDs to watch Indian movies.

China can be a good market for Indian movies in the coming years, say studio owners. It is likely to overtake the US to become the world’s largest film market by 2020, in terms of box office collections. This offers a huge theatrical opportunity for Indian films with a significant boost to overseas collections.

“A conflict with China may kill a good market for Indian films… If there’s a standoff between India and China, the latter may block the entry of Indian films. This may not be good for the future of our industry,” says a trade analyst, on conditions of anonymity.