What’s Working For Bollywood In China? Here’s The Secret Mantra

Shortly after Aamir Khan ’s much ambitious Dangal broke most records in China and earned almost 2000 crores in the world’s second biggest cinematic market, his next production Secret Superstar repeated a similar feat. With a figure touching the 1000 crore mark, Secret Superstar’s China Box Office figures are almost twenty times of what it earned in India. This goes to prove something; it proves that the Chinese audience is finding a solid connect with these movies for a reason. No the reason isn’t Aamir Khan!

While Mr. Perfectionist must be credited to introduce and fully establish a market for Indian films in China, what’s going to follow will not just be his efforts. Salman Khan ’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan only a couple of days ago crossed the 100 crore mark in China and has become another success story in a matter of weeks. Akshay Kumar's Toilet Ek Prem Katha too opened to an overwhelming response in China. The film released on over 4300 screens in China.

Going by an authentic study of response shared by the Chinese viewers, the moving emotional connect in Indian movies is striking a solid chord with Chinese viewers who had otherwise gotten used to the flavor of International brand of western cinema or their in house action content. Movies like PK ,  Dangal, Secret Superstar and now Bajrangi Bhaijaan have found a way to make them believe in stories that not only are real to a large extent but also peddle an enormously high value of sentiments that can easily move an audience not used to watching such kind of cinema.

The success stories of a lot of Chinese heroes are a manifestation of how it’s not really at a differing end than India.  The struggles, the social conflicts are reminiscent that both countries have similar stories to offer. However of course the Chinese audience wasn’t served a major category of content they were so longing for. That gap has now been filled by Indian movies like these.

This brings us to a very important point that Indian distributors must not get carried away with the overwhelming success in the Chinese market. While sensible players are being very calculative in taking their product in the country, it’s important the good movies only make the base strong. Dangal and Secret Superstar have almost introduced the entire country to Bollywood and what needs to follow is a string of movies that entice the Chinese viewers more and more.