LET’S DANCE!
Chinese filmgoers looking forward to Indian remake of classic Hong Kong film ‘Infernal Affairs’
Images of an undercover cop and a criminal suddenly breaking out into a dance routine during a dramatic fight scene rushed into the minds of numerous Chinese netizens on Wednesday after Warner Bros India and Mumbai-based Azure Entertainment announced they were teaming up to produce an Indian version of the 2002 Hong Kong gangster classic Infernal Affairs.
“‘I’m a policeman,’ someone says, then the dancing begins. How great would that be?” 24-year-old Tianjin netizen En_Jiao Shenme Hao Ne (What should I call myself) commented after huanqiu.com posted the news on Sina Weibo.
“The same image came to me too,” netizen Buhui Huatu de Shejishi (a designer who does not know how to paint) replied.
Indian films have long received lukewarm receptions in China, as many moviegoers are under the impression they contain a lot of singing and dancing for no reason at all.
Yet, after a recent string of successful Indian films release in the mainland – especially sports drama Dangal, which earned a total of 1.29 billion yuan ($193 million) in the Chinese mainland – many Chinese moviegoers are looking forward to an Indian version of Infernal Affairs.
While the cast for the film remains unknown, a number of Chinese are throwing Indian actors Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan’s names into the ring.
“I heard from a friend who knows a lot about India that Aamir Khan is the ‘Indian version of Andy Lau,’ and Shahrukh Khan is the ‘Indian version of Tony Leung.’ Wouldn’t it be exciting to see these two joining hands?” netizen Bilibili Fangyingji (Bilibili movie projector) posted on Sina Weibo.
Co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, Infernal Affairs is the first film in a crime trilogy that tells the story of a Hong Kong police officer, Chan Wing-yan (Tony Leung), who infiltrates a Triad gang, while Lau Kinming (Andy Lau), a Triad member, infiltrates the Police Force.
The film received seven awards from among nine nominations at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as six awards from seven nominations at the 40th Taiwan Golden Horse Awards in 2003.
The Departed, the US remake of the film directed by Martin Scorsese, won the Best Picture award at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio as the undercover police officer and Matt Damon as the mole in the police force.
Chinese streaming website iQiyi and Hong Kong-based Media Asia Group also produced three seasons of a TV drama version of the film in 2016 and 2017.
Amazon is also preparing a TV remake of The Departed for 2018 as well.
However, it is still the Hong Kong film version that has received the highest applause.
On Chinese film review website Douban, the 2002 Hong Kong film has a 9.0/10 from more than 402,000 netizens, while The Departed has a 7.2/10 from 37,515 netizens, and the first season of the Chinese TV drama has a 6.2/10 from 2,603 netizens.