'All of us owe Aamir Khan'

...says the director of Hindi Medium, Saket Chaudhary, who thinks credits the actor for showing "initiative and vision" in taking Hindi cinema to a new audience
'All of us owe Aamir Khan'

Saket Chaudhary's directorial Hindi Medium is set to be released in China, where Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's fan base multiplied with the success of his film Dangal. The director thinks everyone owes the actor for showing "initiative and vision" in taking Hindi cinema to a new audience.

After Aamir's Secret Superstar and Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Hindi Medium will be the third Indian film to get a release in China this year. The Irrfan Khan-starrer will hit the screens in China on April 4.

Does Chaudhary think his film will be able to do better business than Aamir's films? "Without Dangal, the Chinese audience may not have been familiar with the new Hindi cinema emerging here that blends entertainment with strong social themes. Secret Superstar has established that even smaller Hindi films have an opportunity there. We would like Hindi Medium to do well and continue the trend. We are a continuation, not a competition," the filmmaker says.

Hindi Medium, a comedy-drama, is about a Delhi-based rich couple who go out of their way to give their daughter the best education so that the elite accept her. 

For Chaudhary, it's not "so much" about the size of the market, but about reaching a new audience and how they connect to the story.

What surprised the film's team was the similarities between Indian and Chinese parents. "Both have an obsession with education as a means of social mobility and also their desire to learn English in order to be a part of the global economy. So we are excited to see how the Chinese audience connects," says the director.

Hindi Medium, which was released last year, was a commercial success in India.

 

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