India and China: Divided by border, united by Bollywood?

It was recently reported that following conversations between Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi, India and China have agreed to co-produce three films together.
READ: 'PK' mints over Rs.100 crore in China
Xi told Modi about a 2012 Chinese blockbuster, Lost In Thailand, that resulted in a burst of Chinese tourism to Thailand, and discussed the probability of making a Lost In India on similar lines.It is also said that if Bollywood can pull such a movie off, it might get an entry into the world’s largest movie market. The two other films to be co-produced are a feature film on Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) and another on yoga.
This year was the first time China purchased four Indian films. Aamir Khan recently returned to India after a grand PK premiere in China, and sadly, also put the rumours of him working with Jackie Chan in Kung Fu Yoga, to rest. Last year, we had actors of the first Chinese movie being shot in India, My Amazing Trip To India, shooting a traditional wedding sequence in Phool Mahal Palace and Roopangarh Fort in Kishangarh, Rajasthan. Things are looking bright, but history doesn’t have much to say and show about India and China sharing any cinematic relations.
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From Lahore (1949) to Welcome 2 Karachi (released last month), a number of films have been made about the Indo-Pak relationship, themed on wars, terrorism and the cross-border relationship. But China hasn’t been that big a part of Bollywood films yet, despite India sharing a bigger boundary with that country. The new film treaty may see many collaborations in future, but for now, let’s take a walk down the memory lane and see how China has been portrayed in our films so far.
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Chandni Chowk to China (2009)
The film, panned by both critics and the audience, had Akshay Kumar playing Sidhu, a worker at a roadside food stall in Chandni Chowk. When two Chinese men tell him that he is a reincarnation of war hero Liu Shen and wish to take him to China, Sidhu, egged on by charlatan Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey), believes he will be treated as a hero in the neighbouring country. What he doesn’t know is that his job is to assassinate the smuggler Hojo (Gordon Liu). The film also starred Deepika Padukone in a double role – as an Indian-Chinese spokesmodel and Chinese femme fatale Meow Meow. Chopstick, Meow Meow... could this flick have ashamed itself any further? Actor Roger Yuan played Deepika’s father and Akshay’s trainer in the film. The only credit that can be given to CC2C is that it genuinely made an attempt to show the Chinese martial art Kung-Fu in Bollywood style.

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!(2015)
Dibakar Banerjee’s cinematic adaptation of bhadralok sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi’s story had trained its cameras on one of the most fascinating communities – the Chinese residing in the City of Joy, with the backdrop of the opium trade taking place in erstwhile Calcutta’s Chinatown. Actor Meiyang Chang plays a licensed opium trader with his roots in China. Sushant Singh Rajput, who plays the dhoti-clad detective, is seen taking on some sword-bearing Chinese smugglers in the movie.
Why doesn’t bollywood show more of its chini bhais?
Howrah Bridge
In the film Howrah Bridge (1958), the famous song Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu, sung by Geeta Dutt, has Helen mouthing the lines, “Babuji main Chin se aai, Chini jaisa dil layi.”

Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani
The 1946 film Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani based on a story by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, had V Shantaram, who is also the director of the film, essaying the role of protagonist Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis – an Indian doctor who worked in China during the Japanese invasion in World War II. While in China, providing medical assistance to the troops fighting against the Japanese, Kotnis courts a Chinese girl called Ching Lan, played by Jayashree.

Haqeeqat
The 1964 film Haqeeqat is said to be the only film that featured the India-China border war. The Dharmendra-starrer, which also features the immortal Kar Chale Hum Fidaa song, sung by Mohammed Rafi, is credited for authentically portraying the troubled relationship between the two countries.

Shatranj
In Shatranj (1969), Rajender Kumar plays a spy hired by a man whose wife and daughter decide to re-locate and settle in a communist country without him. Assuming the identity of Shinraaz, a Chinese man, Rajender goes around trying to locate the two women.

Prem Pujari In Prem Pujari (1970)
Dev Anand plays Ramdev Bakshi, a non-violent man who is sent to the war front during Indo-Chinese war by his father, a war hero. Ramdev refuses to fight and thus, is court-martialled. Later he is captured by the Chinese army and humiliated. A beautiful Chinese agent promises him a better future if he agrees to spy on India for her. The Chinese were shown as spiteful people in the film – they are shown shooting a dog from the Indian side, and mockingly declaring ‘Hindi-Chini bhai bhai’.

Fire
In Deepa Mehta’s Fire (1996), Javed Jaffrey had a Chinese girlfriend.

Mickey Virus
In Mickey Virus (2013), a song titled Pyaar China Ka Maal Hai represents our perception about Chinese products that come with no guarantee.

Happy New Year
In Happy New Year (2014) Abhishek Bachchan refers to the Korean dancers as Chinese and ‘chilli chicken’. SRK, however, corrects him. The insensitive dialogue reflects the Indian mindset of treating all people with Mongolian features alike.

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Why China hasn’t been in focus in Bollywood - Manoj Kumar was quoted as saying once that after the 1962 War, when the Peace Treaty was signed with China, the Censor Board restricted filmmakers from portraying China as a ‘villain’. Bollywood’s bread-and-butter are masala films that rarely take up sensitive issues. Plus, the Sino-Indian relationship was never considered massy enough. And it might not be a very ‘correct’ thing to say, but compared to Pakistan, showing China as the ‘enemy’ doesn’t seem to evoke as much ‘patriotism’. Plus, China doesn’t play cricket! Both India and China have a rich history and culture, but not a shared one.
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