Bollywood star Aamir Khan is certainly making waves in China.
Khan has overtaken Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become the most followed Indian national on Chinese social media.
SEE ALSO:Bill Gates blogs about why he is 'impressed' with the Indian PMThe 51-year-old actor and director now has almost 650,000 fans, up against Modi's 160,000 -- previously the highest amount of fans for any Indian national on Weibo.
The reason for his success? His new movie, Dangal.
The movie, which is known as "Let's wrestle, Dad" in Mandarin, is based on a true story of two female wrestlers -- and has gone on to become the highest-grossing Indian film ever in China.
The promotional image for "Dangal"Credit: Topgyal/AP/REX/ShutterstockIt tells the story of Indian wrestler and coach Mahavir Phogat -- played by Khan -- who defied social norms and trained his daughters to become wrestlers.
One of his daughters, Geeta Phogat, became the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics, and went on to win the country's first ever gold medal in the Commonwealth Games.
Geeta Phogat (bottom) up against Sakshi Malik (top) in 2015Credit: Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesThe film has already made $100 million at the Chinese box office -- and Chinese internet users have nothing but praise for the film -- and for Khan.
The hashtag #LetsWrestleDad started trending on Weibo, and was mentioned 25.8 million times on the site.
"I cried when I watched this film. Amir Khan is such a good actor, I'm a new fan," said one user on Weibo.
"In order to play the character at age 19, 29 and 55 years old, Amir Khan had to go from 140 pounds to 194 pounds and back to 144. He is so dedicated. A true actor uses his life to show his art," another user added.
Credit: weibo"I really look forward to the day when China will have such a feminist movie," one commented.
"The whole theatre applauded when this film ended," said another.
Many of the movie's main themes -- such as bias towards women, and the importance of filial piety -- are important themes in Indian and Chinese culture.
China has typically not been part of the "traditional" foreign market for Indian films, which usually target regions with large Indian populations such as the US, UK and UAE.
Perhaps Khan's success marks the beginning of more Bollywood hits in China.
(责任编辑：熱點)
Tesla's rumored P100D could make Ludicrous mode even more Ludicrous
'Fearless Girl' statue gets another replica, this time in Australia
Stephen King is straight up trolling Trump on Twitter now
YouTube changes 'strike' policy for first
Dramatic photo captures nun texting friends after Italy earthquakeMajor earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central Italy
UPDATE: Aug. 25, 2016, 8:22 a.m. BST 。 Death toll is now at least 247 dead: 190 in Rieti province and
...[详细]11 best autofill texting games for when you're so bored you could cry
Predictive text is at best a time saver, and at worst a life destroyer. Most phones now have some fu
...[详细]How can men be effective allies online?
This piece is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means to bea woman on the internet.Log off
...[详细]MTV UK is bringing back the original 'Cribs' and 2019 is looking brighter already
Have you missed watching celebrities give long-winded tours of their lavish homes before finally arr
...[详细]Airbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana flooding
Airbnb has activated its disaster response page following the record-breaking flooding in Louisiana.
...[详细]'You're The Worst' Season 5 invites you to hurtle toward destruction
It may be entering its final season, but there's never been a better time to catch up on You're The
...[详细]
It's not every day a member of Congress drops by a Twitch session.Streamers of a session of Donkey K
...[详细]Custody dispute? A judge can order you and your ex to use this app
Welcome toSmall Humans, an ongoing series at Mashable that looks at how to take care of – and
...[详细]Hiddleswift finally followed each other on Instagram after 3 excruciating days
On Aug. 13, 1961, Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall, perhaps the greatest symbol of the
...[详细]Everything coming to Hulu in March 2019
In the post-holidays, pre-summer slump that is this alleged "spring," life can get pretty boring. Lu
...[详细]
