Is China’s secret superstar Aamir Khan the second coming of India’s Tagore?
The Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s enchanting stories prompted a watershed moment in Sino-Indian ties. Almost a century later, a Bollywood superstar is on the cusp of doing the same
From the Buddha to Tagore to Aamir Khan, the Chinese have always been captivated by India’s cultural icons.
While the Buddha has long had a deep impact across the Himalayas, Rabindranath Tagore’s stories have enthralled Chinese readers since the early 20th century, and then Bollywood stars Raj Kapoor and Nargis got them humming Indian film songs in the 1950s. Most recently, however, Aamir Khan has drawn a new generation of Chinese fans to the power of Indian storytelling.
Secret Superstar is the latest Aamir Khan vehicle to charm Chinese audiences, collecting more than US$30 million in the first four days of its release – double what his previous, and extremely well-received, film Dangal (Wrestling) grossed in China during the same period.
With this success, Khan has joined the ranks of Raj Kapoor and Nargis, whose film Awara (The Vagabond) has become ingrained in the memories of Chinese since the mid-20th century.