Out Now - Rama Official Teaser - Ramayana - Page 26

Strange that you mention Dangal... it was one of the projects that got mentioned to me, too...but as you correctly stated, there is no verifiable truth one can get, so I didn't mention it (and also other projects, albeit not all from the filmindustry).

Also other Aamir movies like Secret Superstar and PK allegedly had been very successful in China as Aamir (again allegedly) has there a strong fan-basis.

However I don't know anybody who could verify that.

Originally posted by: Clochette

Strange that you mention Dangal... it was one of the projects that got mentioned to me, too...but as you correctly stated, there is no verifiable truth one can get, so I didn't mention it (and also other projects, albeit not all from the filmindustry).

Also other Aamir movies like Secret Superstar and PK allegedly had been very successful in China as Aamir (again allegedly) has there a strong fan-basis.

However I don't know anybody who could verify that.

That’s the thing. Those movies did decent business there but when you compare the numbers they make no sense whatsoever.

PK released in India in 2014 and in China in 2015. Secret Superstar did so in 2017 and 2018 in India and China respectively. PK allegedly made approximately 120 crores and SS made 750-800 crores in China alone.

PK is technically a better movie made on a bigger budget and with bigger names with Aamir himself as the main character. Secret Superstar is made by his production house and while he has a cameo in it, in no way his role so impactful that it can justify the numbers.

Take a look at the facts

PK releases in 2015, runs for approximately 6 weeks in China and makes 120 crores.

Dangal follows in 2017 makes approximately 10 times the amount in 2 months, barely 2/3 additional weeks per timeline with 1200-1300 crores.

Secret Superstar follows next year, run time in theatres is 8 weeks, again 2 months approximately and makes about 750-800 crores with Aamir just being a cameo. The movie did well in India but it wasn’t a rage even here in this proportion.

Thugs of Hindustan later in 2018 itself, just 2 weeks and makes 65 crores.

Same movies collections in the same order - 340, 387, 64 and 151 crores respectively.

Interestingly, since 2022 not a single Aamir Khan movie has released Laal in China. Apparently, no distributors were interested to buy rights for either Laal Singh Chaddha or even Sitaare Zameen Par.

Also, if you notice something you’re gonna see how the two movies doing huge business in China are both produced by AK himself under his banner. While when movies are produced by other production houses namely PK and ToH, where Aamir is merely an actor but not involved as a producer, the difference in collections is quite noticeable.

It’s as if the Chinese care about those movies in those years only when Aamir himself is producing them… like it makes any difference to them…

If that’s not fishy I don’t know what is…

It’s as if suddenly post demonitisation, Aamir’s movies were a rage in China for the successive years. But they suddenly go irrelevant and don’t even merit a release. It’s as if… cash hoarded abroad was recalled to replace the cash lost in demonetisation. Once the money was transferred completely, the sudden surge of Aamir Khan’s movies in China suddenly dies down, just as it suddenly began.

This has been the suspicion...including that Aamir/his ph got used because of a certain character trait he himself seemingly has... (shown 2015)

However, no factual proof surfaced... so, it is more or less a logical speculation.

Originally posted by: Clochette

This has been the suspicion...including that Aamir/his ph got used because of a certain character trait he himself seemingly has... (shown 2015)

However, no factual proof surfaced... so, it is more or less a logical speculation.

Yep, there’s no paper trail or witnesses to corroborate the story that seems like a straight up money laundering scam.

The money was “white washed”, a certain amount was paid as legal tax and that’s it. The process is smooth and efficient, not like we can’t deploy Dhurandhars in China to find out what the real source of these collections was. It maybe possible that we know exactly what happened and how it did, but to establish a credible link between the relevant parties is the main cruncher.

But something tells me, we have an made a sort of understanding with the Chinese government itself, behind the scenes, which explains why post 2022, no such Indian movie has been such a massive hit in China.

Let’s see how well Ramayana does there and in other territories. That’s honestly gonna be an interesting avenue to keep an eye on.

I suppose that nothing will replicate what happened with Dangal (and to disguise it) with following Aamir movies. Other ways have been found, I suppose.

I remember having read that Aamir was the first one of the '3 Khans' to venture into the Chinese market (with Lagaan), so - with the way he exposed himself during the intolerance debate - he was the easiest to get exploited, I think.

The current Ramayana is another kind of exploitation, imo. It may have nothing to do with the very soul of Indian culture.