Dangal is making waves worldwide with a collection of Rs1,848 crore. A major contributor to this has been China with over Rs1,100 crore and counting. MEHUl MAlPANI tells you how Indian entertainment is pushing boundaries like never before
In 1971, when Sunil Dutt went to promote Reshma Aur Shera with Nargis in Moscow, the Russians who had been watching Raj Kapoor-Nargis films, refused to believe that she was married to Dutt, such was the chemistry between Raj Kapoor and her in movies like Shri 420 and Awaara.
In fact, Raj Kapoor was the first Indian actor who was serenaded in countries like China and Russia with Awaara and Mera Naam Joker. Bollywood’s one and only showman became a global icon for Indian cinema.
This, interestingly, opened a market for non-traditional and non-English speaking regions for Bollywood, markets that had never been explored before. Over the years, countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Peru, Brazil and Israel became release centres for several Indian production houses and distributors. The reason behind this back then was not so much money than making one’s presence felt on the world firmament. That one could make $5,000-$8,000 from these regions worked for all concerned.
“Though this amount doesn’t even cover the cost of local promotions, at least there is presence of Bollywood and people in these regions are aware of the Indian film industry. Of course, there is an Indian population in these areas which wants to watch the latest movies, as there are fan clubs. The distributors can boast of their movie being released in a non-traditional market works too. Kick, for example, was shot in Poland and so it naturally followed that it was released there as well and did pretty well,” Atul Mohan, editor of Complete Cinema and trade analyst, says.
Also, the success of films like PK, Bahubali:The Beginning and Dangal makes distributors push the boundaries and release these films in markets as far away as West Indies where there is a large Indian population on some islands.
“Non-traditional markets do not offer much returns. Only those films that have done phenomenally well make makers want to explore new markets. At least they make some money from these regions. Since, distributors maximise their profits from traditional markets like the US, the UK and Australia, they can experiment with regional releases too which get only one of two cinema halls showing Hindi movies, that too only at weekends for the Indian population,” Mohan points out.
India is the biggest film producer in the world, producing one-fifth of the total films made worldwide in a year. The country is also a global leader in terms of linguistic diversity in the entertainment industry. While most countries produce films in one or two languages, India makes films in as many 35 languages.
So, it is not surprising that our films are setting new benchmarks and pushing boundaries, not only at film festivals and awards functions but also at the international box-office. While films like The lunchbox, Court and Gangs Of Wasseypur were critically acclaimed worldwide, movies like Dangal are winning hearts and breaking box-office records, especially in China.
The reason is simple. China was a never explored market which came into focus with Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots which made Rs16 crore. There was a time when China didn’t have half the number of cinema halls that India has. However, in the past five-six years, the cinema halls there have tripled to 44,179 screens. The collection from there is much higher than the rest of the world put together, what with China housing the world’s biggest population. In India, this figure stands at 6,000 single screens and 2100 multiplexes as per the 2016 data.
Dangal, which released on May 5, 2017 across 9,000 screens in China created an unprecedented landmark by crossing Rs1,000-crore mark in its box office collection on May 30, 2017, making it the 33rd film in Chinese cinematic history to cross one billion Yuan Renminbi (equivalent of Rs1,000 crore). The only other movie to have surpassed Dangal this year is The Fate of The Furious (Hollywood) which made $391 million (approximately Rs2,523 crore).
India and China have many cultural similarities. The two are the oldest civilisations in which relationships matter to us, we have similar beliefs, like vaastu. Then there is the game itself — wrestling. We know how competitive China is when it comes to sports. See the number of Gold medals they win at international sporting events like the Olympics. This connects us. Then there is the fact that after 3 Idiots and PK (which made Rs123 crore) Aamir Khan’s face is familiar.
Due to its huge population and the number of screens, there is a huge demand for film content there on a regular basis. Even though there is a cap on the number of foreign films that can be released in China every year, the authorities there ensure that there is a strategic mix in terms of number of screens and show timings allocated to both Chinese as well as foreign films. They ensure that the foreign films releasing there are of substantial standard and do not hurt the culture and ethos of their country or have potential to create unrest in society.
The theatrical releases are set at 34 foreign films a year, most of it being grabbed by Hollywood films, leaving little for Bollywood. Till date, the only films that have been released in China are — Awaara, 3 Idiots, My Name Is Khan, Delhi Safari (this animation from Nikhil Advani in 2012 when released in China made Rs10.65 crore in China), Dhoom 3 (which made Rs24 crore in China), PK, Happy New Year, Fan, Baahubali:The Beginning (which made Rs 7 crore in China) and Dangal.
“Dangal ushers a new era for Indian films in China. The film has connected with the audience at an emotional level. Earlier too, Indian films fared well at the Chinese box office, be itPK, Baahubali-The Beginning, 3 Idiots, My Name Is Khan or Happy New Year. Both the countries have a good rapport and a lot of similarity in culture and tradition. The Chinese have been patronising Bollywood films for a long time now. The production value of Bollywood films, along with the easy and lucid story-telling format, makes the Chinese connect with them instantly. They like the grandeur, canvas and the song and dance weaved into our films. They connect with them also because our films have an oriental feel to them. Bollywood cinema being about several genres gives the Chinese audience many varieties to choose from,” Sushil Kumar Agrawal, CEO Ultra Media & Entertainment Pvt ltd, says.
Also, Indian initiatives like the ones signed in 2015 by Eros International and three Chinese State-owned film and entertainment companies, help. This was done at the India-China Business Forum in Shanghai which was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China visit. Under this, these entities will co-produce, promote and distribute Sino-Indian films across all platforms in both the countries.
Now thatDangal has broken all records, movies are now being made with an eye on the Chinese market. Salman Khan will be romancing Chinese actress Zhu Zhu in his upcoming film Tubelight. Its set against the backdrop of the Indo-Sino War of 1962. Baahubali: The Conclusion will soon be releasing in China. It is predicted that this one is likely to cross theDangal BO collection.
Ajit Thakur, CEO of Trinity Pictures, tells you that the opening of non-traditional markets has been primarily because back home, there hasn’t been the kind of rapid development as should have been. “The growth in India has been flat in the last three years. In fact, many studios have closed down because they were not making money. Infrastructure needs a lot of improvement and though things are changing, it will take time. Also, the rise in the number of cinema halls has not been that fast. It was obvious that the industry would look to other markets for revenues. Of course, the digital platform is there. To be able to open other markets will change the dynamics in a way that we will be able to invest more in the stories that can travel globally rather than depend on local BO collections only at home,” Thakur says.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all movies will be made for global market. There will be films made for different markets — to cut the pie in various ways. Today, Bollywood is in the forefront of many more markets than before. But this doesn’t mean that every film will do well; one will have to pick and choose the films and there are two ways of doing it.
“First, find a good script, make a film and then take a call on whether it has an audience other than India. Second, define the market more than Hindi — Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, for example. We have found a subject that is universal — an action-adventure film with more visuals. Similarly for China, we have found a theme that will resonate with both the audience and a plot that doesn’t require a lot of dialogues. So one can design a film in this manner,” Thakur tells you. So, basically it all boils down to finding an emotional connect that the treatment and subject of the film has. “Sometimes, very local issues find global acceptance, like in Dangal, the discrimination of the girl child is a very local subject. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from China was very local too and yet it travelled the world over and was the first Asian film to do so well in Hollywood. Human stories that have a strong romantic theme work well. We should play to our strengths and, at the same time, find the right story for the right market,” Thakur says.
HERE TOO!
Peru: Unlike other countries in South America, Peru has a popolation of only 350 Indians. Despite this country has a huge fan following of Bollywood, especially for Shah Rukh Khan. off late, movies that have released here are 3 Idiots, My Name Is Khan, Guzaarish, Dhoom 3, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and Chennai Express. There are even a few fan clubs of stars like Hritik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Kapoors, the Khans and Aishwarya Rai. But, SRK rules the roost.
Colombia: They may not know much about India, but they know our movies after 15 Hindi films were screened at Bogota Film Festival in 2007. The themes, specially romantic dramas and musicals, have a mass following among GenX. Kajol and Rani Mukherjee are popular.
Tajikistan: love for Indian movies continued even after the disintegration of the USSR. Mithun Chokroborty’s Disco Dancer is one of the most watched Indian films. Songs from this film are played by taxi drivers. Khuda Gawah is another popular movie.
Uzbekistan: The people here are the biggest fans of Hindi films and local channels show a Hindi movies every week. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Aishwarya Rai are popular here.
Taiwan: In India Tollywood may mean Telugu film industry but outside, it represents Taiwan. Interestingly, it is social issue movies like Taare Zammen Par, 3 Idiots, English Vinglish, Peepli live and Dhobi Ghat that are popular. Off late with Indians visting the country and a few films being shot here, have added to the lure of Hindi movies.
South Korea: It is said that a princess from Ayodhya married a Korean prince thousands of years back and that is what ties the two countries together. My Name Is Khan was a popular film released in 2011.
Israel: Devdas in 2002 was a big hit here. Recently, Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani and Krrish have been popular. Believe it or not, one can even find pirated DVDs of Bollywood films. Sholay is shown many times on the TV such is this movie’s fan following.