Beyond borders
Bollywood star hopes more Chinese films will be shown in his country
In a room with big windows through which you can get a spectacular view of the sea in Sanya, the city in South China’s Hainan province, Aamir Khan showed up, wearing a gentle smile.
A couple of hours later, the Bollywood star walked onto the stage at the closing ceremony of the first Hainan International Film Festival with Jackie Chan to announce the best feature winner.
It was an acclaimed social drama about the moral struggles of a medicine smuggler, which ultimately took home the festival’s top honor on Sunday night.
It is perhaps appropriate that Khan had the honor of presenting the award, given that some of his highest-grossing films in China — such as 3 Idiots, PK and Dangal — poke fun at social prejudices or reflect the struggles that people have to face in their daily lives.
But Khan says that tackling social issues is not his motivation or criteria for choosing movie roles.
“When I’m selecting film scripts, I’m not thinking of social issues. I’m not selecting a film based on a social issue, because I feel that my primary responsibility to (the) audience is to entertain them,” Khan tells China Daily at the festival.
“The audience buys the ticket and comes to the cinema, as they want to be entertained. If they want a lesson in sociology or psychology, then they’ll go to college,” he adds.
The 53-year-old star, with a film career spanning over three decades, hopes his latest film, titled
will entertain in spades. Among India’s most expensive films produced, with an estimated budget of $47 million, is set to open across Chinese mainland theaters on Dec 28. Khan says the film does not have “a social message”. He plans to promote it in Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Xi’an, Nanjing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing.
Also starring Amitabh Bachchan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Katrina Kaif and Lloyd Owen, the action-adventure film, adapted from an 1839 English novel, is about a band of thugs who aspire to free India from British rule.
Khan stars as Firangi Mallah, a con man recruited by the British forces to steal information from the thugs’ leader.
Khan describes his character, Firangi Mallah, as unpredictable, and with conscience, but no moral values.
“He can sell his mother for money. But I’ve found he’s really an interesting and entertaining character,” says Khan.
The star had discovered a resemblance between his new character and a household name in China’s martial arts world. Two months earlier during the Taihu World Cultural Forum in Beijing, Khan revealed one of his favorite Chinese characters is Wei Xiaobao, the fictional protagonist penned by late Hong Kong literature master, Louis Cha, in his classic novel, The Deer and The Cauldron.
When Khan was in Hong Kong around eight months ago, he met a local filmmaker who gave him a copy of the novel, which comes in three volumes.
Spanning the political conflicts during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in 17th-century China, the martial arts story follows Wei, a teenage hooligan born to a prostitute mother in a brothel to become the best friend of the emperor.
“The Chinese boy is 14 years old. He is sly, funny and a bit like my character (in Thugs of Hindostan),”
Khan says during a brief interview.
The influential star also talks about the popular Indian TV show Truth Alone Prevails, which he has hosted since 2012. The program examines some controversial issues in Indian society, such as child abuse, child marriage and dowry.
“I believe that if somebody protests against me, it’s a good thing. I want to know why the people are not believing in me,” Khan says.
He says he feels lucky as many Indians like the show, but he adds “there are a few people who don’t want things to be changed because they benefit from things remaining the same way”.
Having visited China many times in recent years, Khan says he expects to cooperate with Chinese filmmakers, actors and actresses to shoot a Chinese story.
The star even reveals that — should such an opportunity arise — he will spend at least three months preparing, as he would want to memorize the Chinese lines.
With more and more Indian films coming to China — nine imported this year — Khan also says he has contacted China Film Administration, the country’s top regulator for the sector, to express his wish to have some Chinese films screened in India.
Kung fu giants, such as Jackie Chan and the late Bruce Lee, have been the best known Chinese film stars in India for a long time. Now, Khan wants Indians to know more about Chinese cinema.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan starts to promote his latest film on the Chinese mainland, Xu Fan reports.
Clockwise from top: The upcoming Indian epic Thugs of Hindostan, starring Aamir Khan (top left) and Katrina Kaif (top right), will open across the Chinese mainland on Dec 28; and Aamir Khan,the most popular Bollywood star in India, shares his filmmaking experience during a masterclass of the first Hainan International Film Festival in Sanya on Sunday. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY