Key factor

Hindi film Secret Superstar, which stars Aamir Khan in a supporting role, has made more money in China within days of its release than it did in India. Xu Fan reports.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has done it again with Secret Superstar. The movie - his fourth to be released in China since 2011 - has struck gold once more.

The film has earned more in China within days of its release than it did in totality in India.

Khan's latest film topped China's box-office charts for the first five days since it opened on Jan 19, raking in around 250 million yuan ($39 million).

Although the 150-minute film is longer than the usual length of films most Chinese moviegoers are comfortable with, its story won over many local fans.

Reviews from netizens have given high scores on popular movie websites, such as 8.0 points out of 10 on Douban and 9.5 on box-office tracker Maoyan.

Set in Vadodara, a large city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, Secret Superstar centers on Insia Malik, a 14-year-old Muslim girl who strives to realize her dream of becoming a singer, with the support of her mother. Her father disapproves of her ambition and habitually hits her mother.

Teenage actress Zaira Wasim, who debuted in Khan's earlier movie Dangal, which is among the top movies of all time at the Chinese box office, plays the protagonist in Secret Superstar, while Khan plays a quirky pop musician who helps the girl realize her dream.

Most Chinese netizens say they shed tears watching the film despite the story seeming cliched as it unfolds with a series of easy-to-guess plot twists.

"It's a typical Khan production. The story looks like a follow-up of Khan's television talk show Satyamev Jayate (Truth Alone Triumphs) and his daughter-themed films," says netizen Qingtong Xiaoshou, whose review has been marked as "useful" by more than 1,000 people on Douban.

"Khan again proves his charm. The movie is very entertaining and thought-provoking."

Satyamev Jayate is Khan's television show that has aired in India since 2012 and focuses on the country's social issues, such as child sex abuse, gender violence, "honor killings" and domestic violence.

For most Chinese industry watchers contacted by China Daily, Secret Superstar is predicted to maintain a good position at the box office, thanks to word-of-mouth praise and marketing.

Since last week, director Advait Chandan and Wasim have toured cities on the mainland to promote the movie, followed by more hyped promotional events by Khan this week.

In Beijing, for example, Khan discussed the movie with Chinese film industry insiders and played an exhibition table tennis match with Liu Guoliang, a world champion, on Tuesday.

As the former coach of China's national table tennis team, Liu once organized athletes to collectively watch Dangal, when they were training for the World Table Tennis Championships last year.

With astonishing box office takings of nearly 1.3 billion yuan, Dangal, a biographical drama about a former wrestler, has become the highest-grossing non-Hollywood film in China ever.

Khan, 52, has expanded his influence among Chinese fans. He used to be called "India's Andy Lau", in a reference to the iconic Hong Kong film star, for making his status in India better understood by Chinese. But from this year onward, he is being called "Uncle Aamir" by the media and his fans, in a sure sign of his rising popularity.

Chandan, who has worked with Khan previously, says he is excited about his directorial debut's success in China.

"I think the credit goes to Aamir Khan, as his previous films - 3 Idiots, PK and Dangal - have really impressed the Chinese audience, and therefore opened the gates for Indian films. I'm simply enjoying the fruits of their hard work," Chandan tells China Daily in an email.

Two years later than its Indian premiere in 2009, 3 Idiots was released in China in 2011. But for both PK, which opened in China in 2015, and Dangal in 2017, the delays were less than six months.

This time, Chinese fans only waited three months to see Secret Superstar, showing that Indian films have become more competitive among foreign films.

Growing up as a diehard fan of Khan, Chandan had worked as an executive assistant for the star for many years.

"During the time, I was in charge of organizing his schedule, which is quite overwhelming. The toughest part of my job was to allocate his calendar each year. I have learned so much from working with him, as Khan is a very creative and dedicated person, who's very involved with all the projects he works on," recalls the director.

Speaking about his inspiration for Secret Superstar, Chandan says he had always wished to produce a film for his mother, his own "secret superstar" who encouraged him to pursue his cinematic dreams. And he was also inspired by a mother's story from Khan's hit television show Satyamev Jayate.

"Also, the power of the internet has so much of influence on people in India. Therefore, I incorporated it in my film as well," Chandan says.

"I was trying to imply what is happening in India, where young girls have begun to fight for their dreams and rights. In the 1970s, there was this famous notion of the 'angry young man' in India. Now, I feel the real heroes are the 'angry young girls' in India. They are fierce, ambitious, independent heroes who aren't scared to voice their opinion. So, I made the protagonist of my first film a 14-year-old girl who doesn't rest until she has achieved her goal," the director adds.

He also attributes the success to Wasim, who, from his point of view, has given a natural and seemingly effortless performance in the film.

Now, wishing to cooperate with Chinese filmmakers in the future, Chandan went to see two Chinese movies in recent days.

"I was very impressed by Youth (a new hit directed by Feng Xiaogang), whose production values are so incredible and beautiful," he says.

"The (filming) techniques might be different (in the two countries), but the emotions conveyed in the films are universal."

Director Advait Chandan (left), actress Zaira Wasim (center) and the theme song singer Meghna Mishra attend a Beijing event. Right: Aamir Khan (left) poses with Chinese table tennis player Liu Guoliang at a Beijing event. [Photo/China Daily]