How Bollywood movies are making their mark in Beijing

Indian officials who visted Beijing recently proposed the creation of two additional “working groups”, one on culture and the other on pharmaceuticals, under an existing bilateral mechanism.
At the fifth meeting of the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing on April 14, Rajiv Kumar, the deputy chairman of India’s main economic planning body, Niti Aayog, called for the liberalistion of China’s entertainment sector.
“We would like to expose the Chinese population to some more Indian movies,” Kumar said at the session that was briefly open to media. The India-proposed cultural committee could include entertainment, Kumar added.
So far, there has been no response from China, however, the chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, He Lifeng, and other officials were at the economic dialogue.
Kumar cited the success in China of the Hindi film “Dangal” during his address. The biopic of an Indian wrestler who trains his daughters to become world-class athletes in a conservative, small-town setting where women are mostly engaged in household activities, found favour both with Chinese movie critics and at the box office.

Weibo following
Aamir Khan, the actor who plays the ageing wrestler, has become the face of Bollywood in China. On China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, Khan has a following of more than 1 million, and he now endorses phones made by the Guangdong-based company BBK Electronics.
But the commercial run of three other Hindi films this year – an estimated 1 billion yuan (almost Bt5 billion) by two, with the third still screening at more than 193 million yuan – seems to have encouraged India’s approach to the softer aspect of its relations with China.
“Secret Superstar”, a musical drama that Khan co-produced, made around 746 million yuan  – many times more than its India income.
Next in line, with takings of 285.4 million yuan, is “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”.
 The latter does not star Aamir Khan. Instead, the  comedy-drama film, directed by Kabir Khan, was prodcued by and stars another Bollywood heavyweight Salman Khan. 
The latest Bollywood feature to reach China is “Hindi Medium”. Another comedy drama, about parenting and challenges of the modern age, it was directed by Saket Chaudhary and stars  Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar.

Revenue sharing
Hindi films such as these have started to resonate with Chinese moviegoers partly owing to the lack of convincing options at home across different genres.
A common description of the trend on Chinese social media is that Bollywood sheds light on Indian realities but in an entertaining way.
Some trade analysts in China say the diversity of cinema signals a potential upward revision of the country’s quota system, whereby 34 foreign films are allowed for general screening on the mainland each year, on a revenue-sharing basis.
The foreign films get up to 25 per cent of box-office earnings.
But there is no indication of any change on the quota front from the government in Beijing.
“Bollywood can also enter the Chinese market through the flat-fee structure,” Tan Zheng, deputy editorial director of Dian Ying Yi Shu, a film magazine in Beijing.
Tan was referring to the other option for foreign films screening in China, where the rights to a movie in that country are first bought by Chinese studios.
The coming weeks are expected to witness more official engagements between India and China, including a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Qingdao in June, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.