India should take advantage of its soft power to reach out to China

By Rabi Sankar Bosu

During the meeting on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on June 9, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had himself seen the Bollywood blockbuster film ‘Dangal’ and was quite impressed with it. The Chinese president said that the film captivated Chinese moviegoers' hearts. He also expressed his wish that more such films should be released in China in future. President Xi’s praise was a message to Prime Minister Modi that China is willing to work with India to maintain their “hard-won sound” ties and further boost bilateral cooperation amid differences over a raft of issues.

The poster of the Bollywood blockbuster 'Dangal' [Photo: baidu.com]

The Chinese audience's overwhelming response to the Aamir Khan-starring ‘Dangal’ has been unprecedented and a complete surprise. After debuting to high acclaim at home on December 23 last year, the wrestling drama ‘Dangal’ has emerged as the highest-grossing Indian and non-Hollywood movie in China’s history since its release there on May 5, 2017.  With its runaway Chinese success, it has taken the Chinese film industry by storm, making history by joining the list of all-time 20 biggest box office hits. The movie has been screened in more than 7000 theatres in China. It is the first non-Hollywood film to earn an impressive 1.2 billion yuan ($176 million) in China. According to Forbes, “Dangal has become the fifth highest-grossing non-English film in history, the highest-grossing live action sports movie of 2017, and the biggest non-Hollywood import ever released in China.”  Its success is unbelievable, despite the lack of profile of Indian culture in China. It’s a milestone for Indian film that calls for both celebration and reflection.

The 140-minute long biopic film’s several success records show that the movie has succeeded to win millions of hearts and accolades from politicians to ordinary citizens in China. The film was rated 9.2 out of 10 on Douban, a well-established film review website in China. Apart from Titanic, the 1990’s Hollywood blockbuster, few foreign films have gained such popularity in China as ‘Dangal’. During the BRICS Media Forum held in Beijing in June, Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, lauded the film as an Indian success story and a lesson for other developing countries. "The film has become very popular in such a short time and has earned even more than many Chinese movies. It's one of the most successful films in recent years," Liu said.

For many Chinese audiences, at the mention of Indian films, they will naturally think of dazzling dance and rollicking music but the Nitesh Tiwari-directed ‘Dangal,’ known in China as “Shuai Jiao Baba” (Let’s Wrestle, Dad), is a significant departure from Bollywood's typical song-and-dance filled romance pieces. ‘Dangal’ is a Hindi word used to describe a wrestling competition. The movie is based on the real-life story of Mahavir Singh Phogat who enjoyed the sport of wrestling. He competed as a wrestler but never achieved his lifelong dream: winning a gold medal. As a father, he wanted his son to win the medal. But his wife only gave birth to daughters. So he challenged gender discrimination and taught his daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat, to wrestle. One of them became India's first female wrestler to win gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the other won the silver.

A wide range of reasons and explanations are being put forward as the chemistry of ‘Dangal’s’ success in China. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is the symbol of Indian films for Chinese people. He is best known in China for his appearance in the 2009 comedy film the "Three Idiots" and “PK” (2014). Khan’s celebrity status was clear after he got more than 600,000 followers on the Chinese social media service Sina Weibo within two months of joining. But he is not the only reason the film strongly connects with moviegoers across China.  Xinhua News Agency noted the reasons for the film's success were its themes of breaking gender stereotypes and a "well-written storyline and excellent acting."

Film critics, media observers, and social media analysts have noted that even though the film shows some harsh Indian realities, in particular, the negativity of Indian rural life, it is not a caricature of India. It shows similarities between patriarchal systems in China and India. It also deals with issues related to the treatment of girls and women. The film has been able to evoke a sense of parenthood and sacrifice common in Chinese society. Cheng Cheng, an associate research fellow, at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, wrote in the Global Times on June 14, 2017, “Aamir Khan’s new movie, which tells the story of how a countryside girl struggles to become an international wrestling champion, got so much praise in China, a country that also suffers from a severe urban-rural gap and gender ratio problem.” Edward Chan, a professor of sociology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said the strict approach to parenting in the film is something people in China can easily relate to.

In China, many have seen the film as a triumph for female empowerment. Like India, China's fight for gender equality is far from over, and the film's portrayal of these issues has resonated with female viewers, turning the film into a hot topic of conversation online. The South China Morning Post quotes one female moviegoer, Amy Ding, who said: "We're not expected to get married at 14 and be tied to family chores for life as shown in the movie, but just like these wrestlers, women in China need to work much harder to have the same standing as men in society."

Dangal has also inspired Chinese filmmakers. Chinese director Lu Chuan, who is known for his compelling anti-poaching film "Kekexili: Mountain Patrol" and the Nanjing massacre movie "City of Life and Death", believes that "the power of this story and the emotions it conveys resulted in the remarkable success of Dangal.” He also thinks Dangal could have become a huge inspiration for Chinese filmmakers: "Telling a good story is the foundation of film making. I think this Indian film has taught us a lesson if Chinese audiences can be easily moved by these kind of simple, straightforward and beautiful movies."

Yin Hong, a professor at the Tsinghua University and a film critic, told the Beijing Evening News that ‘Dangal’ has "taught Chinese cinema a lesson". In his words, "We have so many champions in China but we have failed to make a decent sports movie. This is a case worthy of reflection." In fact, China is known to push its children to the extremes when it comes to sports. So, naturally one Weibo user asked, "It could totally have been a Chinese story. But how come we don't have a movie like this?" Tan Zheng, editor of Diangying Yishu (Film Art) magazine, told the Hindustan Times while sharing the experience of watching ‘Dangal’, “It is like the story of a Chinese village girl becoming an Olympic champion.”

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in September, 2014, the Chinese and Indian governments signed a long-awaited film co-production agreement on September 18, 2014, and to date have co-produced several movies, such as Jackie Chan's movie Kung Fu Yoga and Huang Xiaoming's Xuanzang. During his four-day official visit to China in May 2016, delivering a lecture on India-China relations at Peking University in Beijing, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee reiterated that more filmmaking cooperation between India and China could lead to better “political understanding.” “In a digital age, joint film productions could be useful instruments for creating positive perceptions among our people," President Mukherjee said.

Cinema is part of India's soft power with most of its globally successful hits resonating with audiences beyond its borders. India produces more than 1,000 films in around 20 languages every year. China is the world’s second-largest movie market after the United States. But it imports very few foreign films that do not come from U.S. production companies. China has a special quota for foreign films where the number of Indian films is too small.

However, in recent years, Indian movies have become popular in the Chinese mainland market. The unprecedented success of ‘Dangal’ once again proved that creative fields don’t have any barriers. Chinese audiences have embraced a film with a different language, from a different country and it has connected with them. India should be proud of the movie because it is very successful and influential in China. The film has enticed thousands and thousands of Chinese people to become aware of India. The tremendous success of the film has also done much to further India’s soft power in China.

Film is one of the few unique artistic tools of expression that play an important role in cultural exchanges, co-existence and tolerance. The cultural outreach of movies is different from politics. The phenomenal success of Dangal is a solid proof that the Chinese public wants to know more about India, but they have very limited resources and opportunities for Indian films. India should take the opportunity to reach out to China with its soft power such as film projections, festivals, yoga, and media exchanges and so on.

China and India, as neighbors and two of the world's fastest growing economies, have great potential in deepening cultural exchanges. The two governments should just let the people know each other through free-flowing exchanges and interactions. If mutual trust is built after exchanges, then the time will be ripe for the two governments to touch upon hard issues, and that should be done through friendly mutual consultation. It is hoped that our two governments should bridge the gaps between the two countries, too large to be filled politically, not militarily.

(Rabi Sankar Bosu is the Secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club in West Bengal, India.)