As Bollywood Makes Inroads Into China, Xi Jinping Not Immune To Its Charm

Wuhan (China): Even Chinese President Xi Jinping is not immune to the strong draw of Bollywood and India's vibrant regional cinema. Xi is fond of Indian movies and has watched a number of them, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale said in Wuhan, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi held an informal meeting.

"The proposals forwarded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi included moving ahead to find ways to collaborate in terms of entertainment including films. It would be a good idea to expand this. More Indian films should come to China and vice versa," Mr Gokhale told reporters.

Irrfan Khan's Hindi Medium took off to a great start in China as it collected Rs 22.06 crore on the opening day earlier this month, movie critic and business analyst Taran Adarsh had reported. Hindi Medium is this year's third Bollywood film to be released in China after Aamir Khan's Secret Superstar and Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
 Dangal, too, had put up a historic show in China. "Dangal, Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan (and) now, Hindi Medium starts with a big bang in China. Collects a whopping $3.39 million (Rs. 22.06 crore) on Day 1. Slowly and gradually, Indian films are getting a firm foothold in China," movie critic and business analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted.

Actor Aamir Khan in January had said he wants to make a "film with Chinese and Indian talent". "It will be really wonderful," Mr Khan said, according to video clips posted by microblogging site Weibo, a service similar to Twitter in China.

He has become a household name in China after the success of Dangal last year which raked up over Rs 1,000 crore since it was released in China. It was the 33th film in China's history to cross Rs 1,000 crore, and won rare praise from Chinese leaders including Xi for its theme.
 Calling India and China as engines of economic growth, Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale said, "Both countries are focusing on the importance of building an open, multipolar, pluralist and a participatory global economic order. The development of India and China can contribute to the elimination of poverty and inequality."

The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in healthcare and digital empowerment. "The two leaders said the informal meeting was candid and helped in boosting strategic ties," Mr Gokhale said.

PM Modi is on his way to Delhi after his two-day China visit.

With inputs from ANI