Perhaps my experiences can help you understand why Aamir Khan is so well-known in China. The first Aamir Khan movie I watched was 3 Idiots. I think it is the first film for the Chinese audience as well. From then on, I started watching more of his films.
As regional powers and developing countries, there are many similarities between India and China. Both of us are facing similar drawbacks at home and overseas. So Chinese people can easily connect with Aamir Khan in his movies.
Take the movie 3 idiots as an example. It’s a story about 3 university students who pursue freedom and dreams under the pressure of a rigid institution. It is an encouragement for us Chinese students, because the situation is the same here in China. Faced with endless homework, we begin to lose ourselves and forget our original intentions. Yeah, parents and teachers always tell us: Study, study and study! Then you can live a happy life. They tell us that you should be somebody and don’t lose their faces. But why can’t we just be ourselves?
Dylan Cameron from Hefei, Anhui in China explains why Amir Khan is so famous among Chinese on Quora.
Well, this movie did enlighten me a lot. Even today, I still remember Aamir Khan’s All is well, which lifts me up when I am down and lose faith in life.
Here are some lines I like:
1. However big the problem, tell your heart, “ All is well, pal.’’
2. With such fear of tomorrow, how’ll you live today? How’ll you focus on studies?
3. I’ve interviewed countless candidates for 25 years. Everyone turns into a yes-man to get the job.
Some film screenshots:
This movie got 5 stars (full marks) on the website Douban—a Chinese version of Rotten Tomatoes. I can show you some comments below.
The translation of some comments:
1. Can I give this movie 6 stars?(Well, the full mark is 5 stars.) 7329 upvotes
2. Watching this film is the best thing I’ve done in 2010. Great recommendation! 3981 upvotes
3. A little bit unreasonable. Plot procrastination. And the bad guys in the movie is very flat and rigid. If this movie is played by Chinese, Chinese wouldn’t think so highly of it. 3033 upvotes
4. Awesome! The best inspirational movie so far. 1836 upvotes
By the way, Aamir Khan has 1.25 million followers on his Sina Weibo’s account—Chinese version of Twitter.
I sincerely hope 米叔（Uncle Mi, the nickname Chinese fans gave) will make more and more great films!
All is well!
If you find any grammatical errors, typos, or improper usages in my answer, please tell me directly. I will really appreciate it! After all, I still need to work on my poor English 🙂 धन्यवाद！
Edit: I was amazed by the fact that this answer received almost 600 upvotes in one day, most of which, I know, were from Indian users. But I wasn’t aimed at flattering anyone. Aamir Khan, as an excellent actor, gained his reputation and respect from China not because of where he came from but his efforts he put in his movies. This is the first reason. And in China, he was known as the Conscience of India, for his films often focus on acute social problems. Supposedly, he had some haters at home for this reason. Like what I said above, as another Asian developing country, China faces some same social problems such as equality of men and women， gap between the wealthy and poor，environmental pollution and population problems. From his movies, we saw ourselves.And this is the second reason why he has been so big a star in China.
Edit: Something not related to the question.You guys really wow me a lot. For my part, I cannot believe it has received 11,406 upvotes now. I think I should write more about Indian movies in China because it seems that many people are very interested in such stuffs.
I read every comment below and many people recommended me to watch the movie PK. Actually this movie is also very well-known in China but I haven’t got a chance to watch it. Because….well, the reason may make you laugh. Because the movie PK was called 我的个神啊， which translates toughly Oh my gosh! The translation is so weird that I don’t want to watch it. Lol. By the way, the movie 3 idiots is called 三傻大闹宝莱坞， which translates literally 3 idiots made trouble in Bollywood.
Oh,for god’s sake, do not ask me why they translated those movies into such weird names. I don’t know.
And also, 3 idiots is not the only Bollywood movie I ever watched. And it is not the only Aamir Khan’s production I ever watched. I have watched Ghajini(Chinese translation: 未知死亡 Unknown Death), Fanaa(Chinese translation: 为爱毁灭Die For Love, Aamir Khan is very handsome in uniform in this film, I have to say.)
Last year, I went to a movie theater and watched the Dangal(Chinese translation:摔跤吧！爸爸Let’s wrestle!Dad)First, it is very impressive and sensational. I almost cried when the girl finally won in the competition after many efforts.While the dad was locked in a room, and he couldn’t witness her girl’s winning. But with the Indian national anthem singing, he knew, his girl finally realized his dreams, the Indian dreams.
To be honest, it is very emotional.Though I am not Indian, I am easily touched by his movies. Take the Dangal as example. It mainly focuses on gender inequality, which is a harsh problem in India.(From the reports I received in China, it seems rape cases often took place in India. You can comment if I am wrong). In the China, situation is better. But the story is still meaningful. I can see myself in the movie.
As a Chinese saying goes in China: 恨铁不成钢，which means parents regret that their offspring doesn’t live up to their expections. Every parents want their kids do better than themselves. So does my Dad. My parents got divorced when I was 6. After that, my dad brought me up all alone. He didn’t marry anyone again, which mainly the result of his protection of me. I know, he is afraid my stepmother would treat me bad, which may hurt me.
Life is harsh at that period of time. My dad have to pay his debt, because my mom asked my dad more money after their divorce. Perhaps not a lot of money, but my family isn’t rich. So it’s a burden on my dad.
Like the dad in the movie. my dad never complained anything infront of me. And like most dads in China, he is good at expressing his love for me. Though I know he cherish me than anything in the world.
So when the dad in the movie sets strict demands on her daughter, I think of my dad. They are the same. Both of them are not good at expressing. Perhaps in someone’s views, they are nerds and do know the first thing about love. In my opinion, they are AWESOME and their love for kids are pure.
This is why Aamir Khan is popular in China. His movies originate from the reality so he can win our hearts.
It is very late at night. Maybe I will write more tomorrow. Thank your for taking time reading.
Also Read:
Aamir Khan, China’s most loved actor
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