Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan seems to have cast a spell on the Chinese. The film, which narrowly missed the Oscar, became on Wednesday the first Indian movie to be released in China nation-wide.
The event revives memories of the Raj Kapoor era when Indian films were immensely popular in China.
Joe Zhang, an official from Columbia Tri Star Film Distributors International said : "Continuing with its international success and now reaching here, Lagaan brings us a great chance to break the wrong idea that good movies are American ones, a chance to introduce the Indian culture to the common Chinese."
"Now we are reminded of the times when Raj Kapoor films like Awara was a big hit in China," he said.
It was a well-attended premiere with well-wishers of India, film buffs as well as a host of Chinese media thronging the venue.
Release of the film, Indian charge-de-affaires Debnath Shaw, said would give the Chinese People more such opportunities to see Indian films.
"Our Chinese friends tell me that Indian films such as Awara and Do Bigha Zameen were very popular in China in the past, but today they do not get many opportunities to see such quality films in theatre houses across China.”
Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan seems to have cast a spell on the Chinese. The film, which narrowly missed the Oscar, became on Wednesday the first Indian movie to be released in China nation-wide.