Entertainment News | Aamir Khan Bats for Collaboration with China's Creative Community

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) Superstar Aamir Khan, whose films "3 Idiots" and "Dangal" have been massive hits in China, on Friday said the creative communities in India and China should work together.

Aamir expressed his desire to collaborate with Chinese filmmakers and writers during a session, ‘Indian Cinema, Oriental Look' on the second day of WAVES summit, which was attended by noted Hong Kong filmmakers like Peter Ho Sun Chan, Stanley Tong, and Indian-origin producer Prasad Shetty, who is based out of China.

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Aamir said he has visited China several times in the last one decade.

"Audiences in China, the cultural flavours in China, and the emotions of people in China are similar to the emotions of Indians. So, the Chinese audience reacts similarly to content in the way Indians do. I was watching a number of my films in China, and the Chinese audience reacting to ‘Dangal' is no different from the Indian audience. The reaction was identical,” the actor said.

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The potential for creative partnerships is immense, according to Aamir, who believes these collaborations can beneficial for both countries.

“It is a great opportunity for India and China to collaborate and work together, whether it is creatively or on an emotional level or from a business perspective, I think it's only win-win if we collaborate with China. Over the years, I've been in discussions with friends from China, and we've often explored the possibility. With Waves coming in, it will give further drive towards that.”

Aamir also said the collaboration should stem from an organic process and should not be driven solely by market trends.

“It has to be an organic process, like it has to be a story, a script that should excite us. it can come from an Indian or Chinese writer, it should excite the creative community on both sides to come together. Thematically, it should be something that connects the two,” he said.

“On the surface level, we can say let's make an action film with a Chinese or Indian star, that doesn't excite me, the story has to excite. I've healthy relations with the creative community in China. They are doing outstanding work there,” he added.

Shetty echoed Aamir's sentiments and pointed out the shared human emotions and cultural values between the two nations. He also shared an instance where the film "PK" struck a chord with one of his Chinese colleagues.

“The biggest opportunity that Indian filmmakers have for China as a market is to tell stories that are authentic to Indian culture because there isn't much difference between Indian and Chinese culture. So, there's no requirement to find out the formula which will crack the market,” the producer said.

Both Sun Chan and Tong shared their deep-rooted affection for India, its cinematic legacy, and cuisine.

“My only association with Indian cinema was Shashi Kapoor when I was a boy in the 70s. I grew up in Thailand, half of my classroom was Indians, and I would be eating their lunchbox, which was aloo paratha. I kept asking for it when I came to India. I always ask for aloo paratha,” Sun Chan said.

Work-wise, he said he worked with Farah Khan, who choreographed a song for one of his films back in 2005.

“We used the expertise of each other's industries, I made friends here, including Aamir, Prasad, Kabir Khan and Raju (Hirani). I was made to watch ‘3 Idiots' by my assistant. I watched it five times with my daughter, wife, and three friends from the cinema. That took me completely into the world of Indian cinema, where it was song and dance.

"Now, Indian cinema has evolved into something that is just Bollywood. It is time we made films for the world. Like, putting an Indian actor in a Chinese film or vice versa is not the only way to collaborate; we should make a film that will be local,” he said.

Tong said he had a fascination with the Taj Mahal as a kid. His admiration for Kalaripayattu, an ancient Indian martial art, was prominently reflected in his 2005 movie, “The Myth”, where he wove elements of Indian martial traditions into an action-packed narrative with Jackie Chan.

“When I came here first in 1993, I went from the Himalayas to the South, I toured the whole country, I found so many stories that I want to make. I made friends here. Indian films are about family values, love, and social issues, all of which resonate with the Chinese audience.

"In the future, there's an opportunity for us to join together because we are good neighbours. I've been talking to Aamir about some projects. I want more co-production to happen between India and China. Why don't we share our actors, writers, and directors, and then we can make better films for the world?”

Held at the Jio World Convention Centre, WAVES is billed as the biggest gathering of the media and entertainment industry. It is aimed at giving a boost to the creator's economy taking shape across the world, integrating sectors like films, OTT, gaming, comics, digital media, AI, AVGC-XR, broadcasting and emerging tech.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)