Brand Bollywood looks east

Question of soft power

The space of foreign cinema in China has recently opened up for Bollywood, and films are an increasingly visible aspect of bilateral relations, which go through ups and downs. China and India signed a coproduction treaty in 2014.

Can Hindi films play a greater role in Sino-Indian relations?

"There are political relationships between nations and then there are people-to-people relationships between nations. People-to-people relationships, I think, 99 percent gets sorted with cultural exchange, there's no problem, or sports exchange," Khan, who also owns a cricket team that plays in the Indian Premier League, said.

"I think you overplay the role of art and culture if you start putting it in the political arena, because it's mutually exclusive, if you really ask me."

Khan appeared reluctant to call Bollywood a soft power.

"It sounds good to say it. I'll say it if you want it, if everybody talks about it like that," he said.

"But you know, it's a film, it's a book that you read, you like it, you enjoy it and you get to know about my country a little bit more through my cinema, that's more than enough. I'm not here to change the context of what relationship the nations share because of my film, no."

China allows 34 foreign films for general screening every year.

After years of Hollywood domination, Hindi films have started to resonate with the Chinese audience.

Is the trend likely to continue or even grow?

"If it happens in China, like it's happened for Hollywood films, it's happened for two or three of our Indian films, if it happens, I think it would be very encouraging for any person from anywhere in the world," Khan, who produces movies as well, said.

Besides, language had become less of a barrier with the use of subtitles, he added.

"What China's done in the last 10 years, whatever little I've understood, is quite outstanding, in terms of screens and bringing choices to viewers," he said of the country's cinema infrastructure.