Bollywood film's Chinese earnings outpace India's

Hindi film Secret Superstar, which stars Aamir Khan in a supporting role, makes more money in China within days of its release than it did in India.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's Secret Superstar earned more in China within days of its release than it did in totality in India.

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Aamir Khan plays ping pang with Liu Guoliang. (Photo via weibo)

Director Advait Chandan (left) alongside actress Zaira Wasim (center) and the theme song singer Meghna Mishra promote the upcoming film Secret Superstar in Beijing last week. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Khan's latest film topped China's box-office charts for five days since Jan 19, raking in around 250 million yuan ($39 million).

Although the 150-minute film is longer than the usual length of films most Chinese moviegoers are comfortable with, its story won over many local fans.

Reviews from netizens have accumulated in high scores on popular websites, such as 8.0 points out of 10 on Douban and 9.5 on the box-office tracker Maoyan.

Set in Vadodara, a large city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, Secret Superstar centers on Insia Malik, a 14-year-old Muslim girl who strives to realize her dream of becoming a singer, with the support of her mother. Her father disapproves of her ambition and habitually hits her mother.

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Aamir Khan alongside Liu Guoliang, former coach of China's national table tennis team. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Teenage actress Zaira Wasim, who debuted in Khan's earlier movie Dangal, which is among the top movies of all time in the Chinese box office, plays the protagonist in Secret Superstar, while Khan plays a quirky pop musician who helps the girl realize her dream.

Most Chinese netizens say they shed tears watching the film despite the story seeming cliched as it unfolds with a series of easy-to-guess plot twists.

"It's a typical Khan production. The story looks like a follow-up of Khan's television talk show Satyamev Jayate (Truth Alone Triumphs) and his daughter-themed films," says the netizen Qingtong Xiaoshou, whose review has been marked as "useful" by more than 1,000 people on Douban.

"Khan again proves his charm. The movie is very entertaining and thought-provoking."

Satyamev Jayate is Khan's television show that has aired in India since 2012 and focuses on the country's social issues, such as child sex abuse, gender violence, "honor killings" and domestic violence.

For most Chinese industry watchers contacted by China Daily, Secret Superstar is predicted to maintain a good position at the box office, thanks to the word-of-mouth praise and marketing.

Since last week, director Advait Chandan along with Wasim have toured cities on the mainland to promote the movie, followed by more hyped promotional events by Khan this week.

In Beijing, for example, Khan discussed the movie with Chinese critics and played an exhibition table tennis match with Liu Guoliang, a world champion, on Tuesday.

As the former coach of China's national table tennis team, Liu once organized athletes to collectively watch Dangal, when they were trained for the World Table Tennis Championships last year.    

With an astonishing box office taking of nearly 1.3 billion yuan, Dangal, a biographical drama about a former wrestler, has become the highest-grossing non-Hollywood film in China ever.

Khan, 52, has expanded his influence among Chinese fans. Earlier he was called "India's Andy Lau", referencing to the iconic Hong Kong film star, for making his status in India better understood by Chinese. But this year onward, he is being called "Uncle Aamir" by media and fans, exemplifying his rising popularity.

Chandan, who has worked with Khan earlier, says he is excited about his directorial debut's success in China.

"I think the credit goes to Aamir Khan, as his previous films — 3 Idiots, PK and Dangal — have really impressed the Chinese audience, and therefore opened the gates for Indian films. I'm simply enjoying the fruits of their hard work," Chandan tells China Daily in an email.

Two years later than its Indian premiere in 2009, 3 Idiots was released in China in 2011. But for both PK, which opened in China in 2015, and Dangal in 2017, the delays were less than six months.

This time, Chinese fans only awaited three months to watch Secret Superstar, showing that Indian films have become more competitive among foreign films.

Growing up as a diehard fan of Khan, Chandan had worked as an executive assistant for the star for many years.

Advait Chandan (left) promotes the movie in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province, during his nation-cross road show. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

"During the time, I was in charge of organizing his schedule, which is quite overwhelming. The toughest part of my job was to allocate his calendar each year. I have learned so much from working with him, as Khan is a very creative and dedicated person, who's very involved with all the projects he works on. Simply by watching how he works has inspired and taught me so much," recalls the director, who adds he was born in the year when Khan made his first movie.

Speaking about his inspiration for Secret Superstar, Chandan says he had always wished to produce a film for his mother, his own "secret superstar" to encourage him to pursue his cinematic dream. And he was also inspired by a mother's story from Khan's hit television show Satyamev Jayate.

"Also, the power of the internet has so much of influence on people in India. Therefore, I incorporated it in my film as well," Chandan says.

"I was trying to imply what is happening in India, where young girls have begun to fight for their dreams and rights. In the 1970s, there was this famous notion of the 'angry young man' in India. Now, I feel the real heroes are the "angry young girls" in India. They are fierce, ambitious, independent heroes who aren't scared to voice their opinion. So, I made the protagonist of my first film to be a 14-year-old girl who doesn't rest until she has achieved her goal," the director adds.

He also attributes the success to Wasim, who, in his point of view, has given a natural and seemingly effortless performance in the film.

Now, wishing to cooperate with Chinese filmmakers in the future, Chandan went to see two Chinese movies in recent days.

"I was very impressed by Youth (a new hit directed by Feng Xiaogang), whose production value is so incredible and beautiful," he says.

"The (filming) techniques might be different (in the two countries), but the emotions conveyed in the films are universal."

VADODARA, India (AP) — Virat Kohli scored a masterful 93 off 91 balls as India won the first ODI against New Zealand by four wickets on Sunday.

Kohli hit eight fours and a six to shepherd India’s innings to 306-6 in 49 overs in reply to the Black Caps’ 300-8 (50 overs). Daryl Mitchell top-scored for the visitors with 84 off 71 balls.

Pacer Kyle Jamieson picked up 4-41 in 10 overs as India’s chase suffered hiccups in the final stages. But Harshit Rana scored 29 off 23 balls as Lokesh Rahul and Washington Sundar helped finish off the game in the hosts' favour.

Rahul scored 29 not out off 21 balls, hitting two fours and a six to finish off the game with six balls to spare.

This was after Devon Conway (56) and Henry Nicholls (62) put on 117 runs for the first wicket, but New Zealand lost its way thereafter with five wickets for 81 runs.

With the win, India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second ODI will be played in Rajkot on Wednesday.

Put in to bat, New Zealand made a brilliant start. Conway and Nicholls started watchfully, with the latter surviving a dropped catch. Then, the duo attacked as 100 came up in 119 deliveries.

Both openers reached 50 off 60 balls, and then looked to press on. Rana got the breakthrough against the run of play when Nicholls was caught behind chasing a wide delivery.

Conway played on but was also bowled off Rana two overs later. Mohammed Siraj then had Will Young caught behind for 12 as New Zealand was down to 146-3.

Mitchell held the innings together with a fine half-century off 51 balls, even as the middle-order struggled to get going.

None of the lower-middle order batters crossed 20, until debutant Kristian Clarke scored 24 off 17 balls.

Along with Mitchell, who hit five fours and three sixes, they did just enough to help New Zealand breach an unlikely 300-mark.

In reply, Rohit Sharma started off with three fours and two sixes, scoring 26 off 29 balls. He put on 39 for the first wicket with skipper Shubman Gill, who struggled for timing.

Sharma mistimed off Jamieson in the ninth over and was out caught. Kohli then came to the crease and powered his way to 50 off just 44 balls.

Gill also found form and reached 50 off 66 balls, as the duo put on a dominant 118 runs off 107 balls for the second wicket.

Wrist spinner Adithya Ashok had Gill caught in the 27th over against the run of play. It didn’t faze India as Kohli calmly added 77 off 76 balls with Shreyas Iyer (49 off 47 balls) for the third wicket.

India faltered in the final phase though as Jamieson struck three times in quick succession. First, Kohli was out caught at mid-off seven short of his century. Five balls later, Ravindra Jadeja hit straight to mid-on.

Jamieson then bowled Iyer to reduce India to 242-5. Rahul and Rana added 37 off 31 balls, with the latter benefitting from a dropped catch.

Despite Rana’s dismissal, Rahul stayed calm to finish off the game as New Zealand faltered in the field.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

New Zealand's captan Michael Bracewell gestures during practice session ahead of first One Day International cricket match against India in Vadodara, India, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

India's captain Shubman Gill during a practice session ahead of the first One Day International cricket match against New Zealand in Vadodara, India, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)