Bollywood flick challenges gender norms

MUMBAI: A Bollywood film, based on the true story of a wrestler’s struggle to challenge gender stereotypes and turn his daughters into worldclass fighters, has become an unlikely hit in China, a country with one of the most serious gender imbalances in the world.

The critically acclaimed Dangal, starring Aamir Khan, is running to packed houses in China, and has quickly become the top non-Hollywood foreign film in the country.

It has earned more than $125 million (R1.6 billion) since its May 5 release.

Dangal (wrestling arena) is also among India’s biggest box-office successes and had sparked a conversation on gender bias in the country, which has a ratio of 933 women to 1 000 men.

The northern state of Haryana, where the film is set, has among the most skewed gender ratios in the country. It also has among the highest incidences of violence against women.

The movie is based on the story of amateur wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita, both Commonwealth Games gold medallists.

It is a departure from the syrupy romances and action flicks with colourful song-anddance sequences that Bollywood is famous for.

Instead, it highlights the realities of the fight for gender equality in India which, like China, has a preference for sons and where women are pressured to marry young.

“Audiences (in China) were deeply touched by the story,” said Zhao Li, an analyst with entertainment research firm EntGroup.

Dangal has sparked online debates about gender in China as well, he said, particularly around the importance of filial piety, another trait that India and China have in common.

118 boys are born for every 100 girls in China.

Chinese officials in 2015 described the gender imbalance among newborns as “the most serious and prolonged” in the world, a direct ramification of the country’s strict one-child policy.

“Gender bias is a universal issue that can cut across culture and language barriers and strikes an emotional chord,” said Anuja Gulati, a programme officer at the UN in India. “Films and other popular culture can be very effective in increasing awareness and effecting change.” – Reuters