the best known Indian movie among Chinese

amoy

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Awara (India: Hindi title) (alternative spelling) The Tramp The Vagabond ... directed by Raj Kapoor
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This is probably among the earliest Indian movies introduced to China. I was impressed by it when I was a kid unlike current Bollywood stuffs.

Do u have any idea about it?
 

tarunraju

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Yeah, a couple of Chinese guys I know talk a lot about it. Current Bollywood has impressive stuff too.

So you should tell us what about Awara do you like the most.
 

Yusuf

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What do you want to know about it? Yes the movie was made by Raj Kapoor. One of the better movies of its time. in those times, the movies used to be on social themes more often than not. Its more commercial these days. But you may wanna watch movies like 3 idiots, lagaan, rang de basanti, all three are Aamir Khan who makes better movies than others who make more fanciful movie.
 

amoy

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why do we talk a lot about it? guess it's becoz when we were kids the cinema was rather boring. then something unique flashed through making a hit. although the story itself is a cliche from today's viewpoint, those things I love
- the melody and the theme song
- the beauty - all Indian girls seem so glamorous in their costumes
- the story shows us the exotic life in India (kind of realism)

but frankly Bollywood stuffs are a bit distant from Chinese taste. in comparison Japanese/Korean art is more akin to chinese. Indian bombardment of dances/singing all over movies make Chinese audience dizzy, in addition to the stereotype of Cinderella+Prince. Besides women in Indian movies are a bit inferior in status (South Asia Vs. East Asia). Indian families (in movies) seem relatively big in size and patriarchs have a say.

Movies perhaps is a good mirror of real life in some ways.
 

indian_blues

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I don't know about movies but indian songs are bit popular with chinese



this is awesome :D

 
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Vinod2070

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why do we talk a lot about it? guess it's becoz when we were kids the cinema was rather boring. then something unique flashed through making a hit. although the story itself is a cliche from today's viewpoint, those things I love
- the melody and the theme song
- the beauty - all Indian girls seem so glamorous in their costumes
- the story shows us the exotic life in India (kind of realism)

but frankly Bollywood stuffs are a bit distant from Chinese taste. in comparison Japanese/Korean art is more akin to chinese. Indian bombardment of dances/singing all over movies make Chinese audience dizzy, in addition to the stereotype of Cinderella+Prince. Besides women in Indian movies are a bit inferior in status (South Asia Vs. East Asia). Indian families (in movies) seem relatively big in size and patriarchs have a say.

Movies perhaps is a good mirror of real life in some ways.
I think a lot like when we watch Chinese/Japanese movies. We can enjoy them but it is difficult to relate to the movies.

I have noticed that women are generally shown the same way in Chinese movies as well which are mostly about martial arts seemingly.
 

amoy

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Women and martial arts - perhaps some Chinese directors find them easily appeal to worldwide audience.

Yet social themes are always popular and have a longer 'shelf life', for example recently 'Wo Ju' Dwelling Narrowness about house, love affairs, greed and desires...
  'Sex and the City' it ain't.

  'Dwelling Narrowness,' a hit TV series about the struggles of two sisters to make it in the dynamic metropolis of Shanghai, http://news.xinhuanet.com/forum/2009-11/22/content_12480212.htm focuses on a decidedly less glamorous aspect of in the big city: rising property prices, and they havoc this wreaks on youthful ambitions.

  Over the past month, the TV drama has drawn a great deal of attention from young Chinese who discuss the program online. Many argue that Shanghai's rising property prices are at the root of the tragic events in the storyline, and the term 'house slaves' has become a popular slang term to describe people like Haiping.

  In a recent (unscientific) survey by Chinese Web portal Sina.com, more than 60% of 15,000 voters agreed with the statement that 'the drama reflects the public's sentiment on house slaves.'
(http://survey.ent.sina.com.cn/result/39451.html). Another poll by Tencent drew more than 360,000 votes, with most agreeing with the statement that 'happiness is closely related to owning a home.' http://cd.qq.com/a/20091124/000294.htm

  'Paying the mortgage and eating [inexpensive] lunch boxes is a true reflection of the living status of many white-collar young people nowadays,' wrote blogger 'Sui Han' (literally translated as 'cold years') (http://suihan0505.home.news.cn/b ... 3209263E8BF94E.html) 'The heroes' struggle for a home on this show gives voice to the conundrum faced by many people who don't have their own homes in cities…The speed of making money is lagging far behind the speed of rising home prices.'

  Another commenter on Xinhua's property forum wrote, 'I found our own lives depicted in this drama, everything is exposed under the sunlight. There is no way out. In the face of housing and reality, we are seriously hurting.'

  According to the latest report from China Index Academy, a domestic real estate research institute, as of October this year, the average house price in Beijing has reached 16,057 yuan per square meter, a 54% increase from the average price of 10,403 yuan in January. In Shanghai, the average residential price for October was 16,954 yuan per square meter, up 22% since January. Despite new measures by the Chinese government to emphasize construction of low-cost houses, the new report on housing by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/ ... ontent_18862284.htm \o 'http://www.china.com.cn/zhibo/2009-11/16/content_18862284.htm) warns that low and middle-income families are 'not well-covered' by the existing residence-guarantee system, which is intended to provide a type of rent and housing price-control. The report concluded that supporting policies haven't been well implemented.

  In a post on a Tianya discussion forum (http://www.tianya.cn/publicforum/content/lookout/1/83373.shtml) , the author, Mr. Ying compares current housing price to a 'wild and unpredictable horse.' The current situation 'has pushed the social problems resulting from the housing issue to their peak. The cruelty of life depicted by the drama strikes a responsive chord among every citizen who is obsessed by high property prices.'

  Others say it's a bit extreme to regard housing prices as the source of all sins, and that it's unfair to use property prices as a proxy for all social problems. On a Xinhua property forum, a commenter called jiangjun32 wrote that 'the home is just a fuse for the ensuing tragedies' on 'Dwelling Narrowness', but the underlying cause of the troubles is the character's greed and desire.
 

Vinod2070

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I personally like to understand the Chinese culture in more detail. It is so different yet so similar in many ways.

Many basic themes are same, you also have strong family ties, a lot of traditional baggage, a strong pride in your history and a belief in your future.

I have always found it very easy to get along with Chinese when visiting USA.
 

Armand2REP

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I don't know about that, but I know the most watched movie about India watched by Chinese is Slumdog Millionare. After that came out the Chinese forums got busy.
 

Vinod2070

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That is actually also true for many Westerners as well.
 

amoy

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Awara may be better remembered within Chinese adults if u do a poll .

As for Slumdog Millionaire, in my opinion it reflects only one facet of Indian life. There's too little from India released here. Thus people easily succumb themselves to what's available (like Slumdog), and take it for granted that's all about India. Sometimes I wonder how influential such movies (or entertainment industry as a whole) are in shaping our views.
 

Armand2REP

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As for Slumdog Millionaire, in my opinion it reflects only one facet of Indian life. There's too little from India released here. Thus people easily succumb themselves to what's available (like Slumdog), and take it for granted that's all about India. Sometimes I wonder how influential such movies (or entertainment industry as a whole) are in shaping our views.
Glad you realise that. Maybe you can tell your countrymen India isn't just a bunch of ghetto because the forums after that movie was nothing but trash talk about how poor India is.
 

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