Aamir Khan or Economics, What’s Beneath China’s Bollywood Craze?

5 reasons why Indian films like ‘Dangal’, ‘Secret Superstar’ & ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ are doing well in China.

The Chinese posters of Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dangal.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

• Dangal: Rs 1000 Cr +

• Secret Superstar: Rs 810 Cr +

One would easily assume these to be the overseas collections of Dangal and Secret Superstar at the international box-office, but believe it or not, these are just the collections made by both these films in China ALONE.

Now, add to these, the collections of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which opened in China recently:

• Bajrangi Bhaijaan: Rs 233 Cr + (3 weeks)

So, what’s with this sudden craze for Bollywood across the other border? We spoke to a few experts and key players in the industry to find out.

China Has Way More Screens than India

The popularity of Bollywood films in China hasn’t been an overnight phenomenon, the invasion began back in 2011 with Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots. Film trade expert Taran Adarsh, who has been keenly observing the marketability of Hindi films in the Chinese market believes that the number of screens that China has plays an important role in the box-office collections that it rakes in.

“The Chinese market for Hindi films grew slowly and steadily with 3 Idiots and PK. With Dangal, it reached the peak and of course Secret Superstar benefited from Dangal, besides being a film that people connected to,” says Adarsh.

“China has more screens and more shows that are happening there. And the film releases there in the local language, that’s a huge advantage.”

Taran Adarsh, Trade Analyst

Adarsh does have a point here because if you merely glance at the figures - according to the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017, in 2016, there were around 6,000 single screens and around 2,500 multiplex screens in India, while the number of screens today in China stands at 45,000.

Cinema Screens Count

• India: 8,500
• China: 45,000

The economics is quite telling, isn’t it?

Chinese Film Viewers are Open to Foreign Talent

Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s director Kabir Khan was recently in China for the premiere of his film. He spoke to The Quint about how open the Chinese audiences are to outside talent. “What is really nice about the Chinese audience is they are basically very open to foreign talent. Of course, they have their own stars, they have their superstars and they follow them but they are very open to actors and directors internationally and I don’t mean just Hollywood,” he said.

“But I found a genuine sort of an excitement for talent from outside which was really interesting.”

Kabir Khan, Filmmaker

Bajrangi Bhaijaan director Kabir Khan with Harshali Malhotra.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

As Kabir confirms, it’s not only Bollywood that the Chinese film audience is lapping up. China is also Hollywood’s second biggest market.

The Chinese Audience is Drawn Towards the Content of Indian Films

The next very important reason why desi films are making a mark in China is the content. All the films that have been doing incredibly well at the Chinese box office are backed by strong stories but their telling is simple.

Hu Xiaowen, an Assistant Professor at Yunnan Academy of Social Science loved 3 Idiots, PK and Secret Superstar. She feels that the human interest stories resonate with the Chinese audience.

“Firstly, their themes are good, of humanistic concern and they reflect some social problems which China also has, that is why Chinese people can relate to them. Secondly, the films do not use too many effects, they just tell a story, simple and clear. These films make people feel that the filmmaker is very sincere, not like some Hollywood film, which is too much like fast food.”

Hu Xiaowen, Assistant Professor at Yunnan Academy of Social Science

Director Kabir Khan agrees with Xiaowen.

Bajrangi Bhaijan’s Chinese poster.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

“There is a certain particular kind of Indian film over there that seems to be catching on to them and that is especially more sort of the drama, human stories that they appreciate. They are not very hot on films from India which are probably action and big sort of fantastical imagery because I think that they have enough of it back home and they get a lot of that from Hollywood also.”

Kabir Khan, Filmmaker

Aamir Khan’s Stardom Helped Open up the Market

Post 3 Idiots, PK, Dangal and now Secret Superstar, Aamir Khan has become a huge star in China and he gets the credit for opening up the Chinese market for Hindi films. Hu is clearly an Aamir Khan fan too.

Aamir Khan dancing with his fans in China. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

“Aamir Khan himself has a good reputation in China, some people know his TV show <i>Satyamev Jayate</i> and regard him as the heart of India. Both countries, especially their people, do not know each other too much, movies are a good window for us.”

Hu Xiaowen, Assistant Professor at Yunnan Academy of Social Science

Advait Chandan whose film, Secret Superstar, made Rs 810 crore in China, crossing its lifetime business in India by a huge margin says:

“I think the credit really goes to Aamir Sir for opening up China as a market. It all started with <i>3 Idiots </i>and then with<i> PK </i>and <i>Dangal,</i> it kept getting bigger. The audience there is hooked. They’re singing Hindi songs and learning Hindi and know dialogues from <i>Dangal</i> by heart! It was pretty overwhelming for me to watch the Chinese audience react so emotionally to <i>Secret Superstar</i>, I really had no idea what to expect when I went there.”

Advait Chandan, Filmmaker

Director of Secret Superstar Advait Chandan with actor Zaira Wasim in China. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Another reason for the adulation of Hindi cinema in China, other than the popularity of Aamir Khan, who is known as ‘Aamir uncle’ there, is the cultural similarity between India and China.

“What I feel is we have lots of cultural similarities, much more than with western cultures, we just didn’t realise it. Singing and dancing is very special, which Chinese films don’t have, and I love them.”

Hu Xiaowen, Assistant Professor at Yunnan Academy of Social Science

So, does that mean Chinese films lack such content? According to Hu, in recent years people have been criticising Chinese films as they spend a lot of money on effects, trying too hard to make it look like a big Hollywood movie, but it just doesn't work.

The Difference in Ticket Rates in China and India is Huge

According to Livemint, another big factor contributing to the sky-high collections could be the difference in ticket rates between the two countries. The average cinema ticket in China is priced at Rs 779 (about 75.76 CNY) compared to Rs 100 in India. That’s as telling as the difference in the number of screens in the two countries.

According to a recent KPMG report, the revenue from overseas theatricals has risen from Rs 760 crore in 2012 to almost Rs 1,100 crore in 2016, and China has a big role to play in this ascent. And as Baahubali 2: The Conclusion gears up for release in China, that figure is only bound to swell.

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