Dangal: How an Indian Film Captivated China | Video Essay 

As an Indian, I always wanted to know why this movie was such a hit in China. Thank you.

Something that the video doesn’t mention: the wrestling choreography is incredible. While scripted and polished, it’s not flamboyant like pro-wrestling or some movies, it is built on real wrestling techniques. In a world that values striking more than grappling in both sports and fiction, this is a refreshing martial arts film.

So many non-Asians in the comments misinterpreting the statement that he "raised his daughters like sons." It doesn't mean the patriarchy doesn't harm boys, or simply that he's forcing his daughters to go into his chosen profession. It means he's raising them to believe they have a future, which so many women here don't. Kinda like the greater good argument. The movie itself addresses this fact that he forced them into wrestling. But keep in mind the lack of choices, for both the girls and Mahavir himself. Did they want to be wrestlers? No. Did they want to be married off at 16 like their mother and forced to do housework and have boys? I think they'd like that option even less. But as a father, Mahavir would have to make that decision, whether to marry off his daughters or fight with society. Wrestling is an honourable career choice for men in that region, and he was the best, so he decided to do whatever necessary to give his daughters a life of their own. Ultimately, it saves them from a forced future and gives them some semblance of independence, fame and money. Of course it's cruel and abusive in any Western society because it would be taking away choices from children. But here, when women anyways don't have a lot of choices? He's actually giving them a choice and a chance. It's heroic. That is why it resonated so well across places which have faced similar cultural issues.

I've had the kind of privileged life where I could watch this movie and criticise the father for dictating his children's lives but that doesn't take away from the fact that its an incredible story of a father standing up to society to break gender norms and allow his daughters a chance at a better life. Mahavir Phogat is an inspiration to all of us Indians to stand up to outdated societal norms in the name of tradition.

In my personal opinion, we shouldn’t raise daughters like sons, or sons like daughters, we should raise children as children, there shouldn’t be such a strong divide. Edit: I deeply regret this comment, I hope most of people who replied never have children.

In India it's illegal to disclose the gender of a child in womb, to prevent female foeticide. Haryana also has the lowest sex ratio in India (879:1000- F:M). What Mahavir Phogat did was nothing short of incredible. And now Vinesh Phogat, niece of Mahavir Phogat, is fighting a battle against sexual harrasment. And she is not the only one. There are many more. Shame on us. They must be heard.

I am a 60 year old Chinese Malaysian woman and I was raised like a son. I never had any limitations in my mind about what I can or cannot do. I couldn't understand why my friends were not like me until I realised that they had limitating beliefs instilled in them by their parents.

You're last comments struck a memory. To pay the bills I work at a university providing first aid to students and staff. Through my work I have been introduced to people from all over the world. The three that come to mind are from Iran. It broke my heart to see them in the library crying. Not due to the workload of their courses but they didn't want to go back home. They all told me that when they got home their chief role will be becoming a wife and mother. "Nothing else matters to my family." (all three told me). They all were academically gifted. Mathematics, engineering, and biology respectively. I truly hope they got to live their dreams.

It's great to see China and India, & South and East Asia in general, appreciating and acknowledging each other. There hasn't been anything like this in the 90s beyond the Ramayana anime, which is understandably a rare collaboration between India and Japan.

The fact that this movie represented a new wave of feminism in both India and China at the time but now Vinesh Phogat, Geeta's cousin sister and plenty of female and male wrestlers are fighting for months against sexual harrasment and assault by the head of Wrestling Federation of India who is powerful politician and seemingly losing the battle is so disheartening

This is definitely one of the best Indian films. There are some hidden gems in Indian cinema. It's unfair how underrated they are!

Watched this a couple years back, really enjoyed it. Also, somewhat off-topic, the work Amir Khan and the Paani Foundation has done in rural india is quite staggering. Probably the largest most successful ecosystem restoration project in the world.

Just wanna add, this true event is from a state Haryana, which is infamous for gender discrimination against Girl child, so it's even more exceptional than the average Indian scenarios.

I like how you don't spoil the ending - leaving us a stronger motivation to go experience the movie firsthand. Another excellent essay from accented cinema, thank you

"The one thing common between these two ancient nations - is rampant sexism." Well put. That, and the Brits. Both the nations got absolutely robbed blind by the Brits.

Sad that the same wrestlers who this movie celebrated have now been battered, brutalised, silenced by the police and the government for speaking out against sexual harassment and abuse in the sport.

There's a well-known paper by anthropologist Vanessa Fong that argues that the one-child policy in China empowered daughters in URBAN AREAS precisely for the reasons you mentioned. One of the major points she makes is that Chinese parents had no choice but to treat their sole child- daughters, as sons because the daughters had to take on traditionally male roles in the future, like making money, taking care of the parents, etc.

You mentioned cram school culture in Japan and China. There's a similar situation, although maybe on a smaller scale, in India with the JEE and NEET exams. There's an entire city built around coaching classes that only teach children for 2 to sometimes even 6 years preparing for these exams

Every film Aamir Khan is in is always gonna be amazing, tackling a societal issue or a human experience. 3 Idiots tackled competing for a place in society versus following your passion. PK tackles religion and how it can inspire or manipulate others. Taare Zameen Par taught people to be more empathetic towards people with disabilities, and how one can overcome their disability. Even his role in Dhoom 3 portrays revenge and revolution. Dangal is just another fantastic movie on Khan's repertoire, and the video explains it really well.

I was raised like a boy, and wasn't allowed to grow my hair long beyond my shoulders until I was 17. Every trip to the hair salon I will beg my mom not to go and cry when I was getting the haircut. My mom and the hairstyle will laugh and said I was stupid, it's just hair. They did this all because they wanted a son. My parents believe that raising a girl like a boy, the next baby they will be blesssd with a son. Some southern chinese believe it seems. My grandparents were from Fujian region. Anyway it didn't work, my younger siblings are girls too. But jokes on them because it turns out I am bisexual. They flip out when I dated a girl. Lol I don't feel bad at all.

My paternal grandmother had three sons, which she took pride in because having sons was a great thing women achieves and is considered it brings honour and continuation to the family, so when my uncles had daughters she was disappointed, so she desperately wanted my mum and dad to have a son, I guess she had the same face when she heard I was born, and maybe even said the same thing "how come it's a girl again". My maternal grandmother had 3 daughter and 1 son, and when my uncle had apples as kid, my mum and aunts can only eat the peel. Tho my mum never said much, I think it still hurts her deep down, cus I remember once she got really upset at my grandma for treating my uncle's daughter better than me. Funny thing is my mum told me when she was pregnant the ultrasound shows it's a boy, but it's technically illegal to disclose the gender, so either it's tru and they disclose it but made a mistake, or it's a lie to not abort me under pressure, it's an interesting little detail to the story.

Long time fan of your channel. I enjoyed your recent foray into Indian cinema, lovely to see a full video on Dangal too. I had no idea it was so big in China! Great to get the background.

I'd love to see an essay about Hichki too... because it was also one of the highest grosser in China

As a European, I have to say how much I love the stories and analysis in this channel. It's like seeing a whole new world, different, but also similar. Not just a simple look into movies, but how they reflect several societies in Asia and how it affected them. You manage to bring a whole new perspective that I was not aware of. Thank you.

Geeta is pronounced as Gi-ta, Gi from 'Given'.

As a Chinese-Canadian girl who was a wrestler in highschool (1st at regionals and 4th at provincials), this movie touched me. It truly does a masterful job showcasing what it is like to be a woman in a place where men and boys are pretty much the only demographic being represented and heard. I'm also very fortunate to say that my parents never put any pressure on me or loved me any less because I was the only child they had and a girl, but even then, as a Chinese individual, I really understood the way girls are seen as "lesser" than boys in our culture and the way the movie portrayed it was very real.

Thanks very much for sharing this one. I have Chinese immigrants parents, many dilemmas I had and still working with my therapist. But I am forever grateful, because they did with what little they had raising us as best as they can and gave us the opportunity to raise our children in a healthier way. It’s good for us as men to recognize women’s struggles and challenges

One very important issue that this movie pointed out was the crucial need of protein for athletes esp wrestling which requires strength and conditioning like no other ( I've trained and competed in multiple sports, traditional martial arts and MMA ) and wrestling was by far the most challenging sport ever. It's a big deal because they live in a society that has a strong vegetarian diet and he realises that his daughters were struggling to keep up with the hard training of wrestling because of the lack of meat and protein in their diet. He made a bargain with the local meat shop, learns how to cook chicken, and has to cook outside the house because of cultural and religious reasons despite his wife's anger and disapproval of their daughters eating meat. It shows how much he was determined to do what was required for his daughters to become world champions even if his wife and society looked down upon him for feeding his daughters a non vegetation meal. Tough love was so brilliantly portrayed in this movie. " Jaha Guru hoga, woha baap nahi ho sakte" which means that he can't be a doting loving father when he has taken up the role of their coach and guru and imposes strict discipline upon them. This is the greatest sports movie and a helluva genuine and strong criticism of indian society's discrimination of women without resorting to the lunatic feminazi banter. A must see for everyone 🎉

Another movie that was surely a hit in India, but was a much bigger hit in china is Andhadhun(Blind-Tune). It was a dark comedy crime movie about a blind pianist that earned triple in China. Also worth mentioning is 3 Idiots, a movie exploring the education system, it was a colossal hit in India and also in China (although mostly pirated as Indian movies weren't widespread in china back then ) as even the Chinese audience could relate to it. Edit: My favourite one is of Secret Superstar, which released sometime after Dangal and had the same star. It was a very low budget movie and it did fairly good in India and earned more than 4 times its budget, but in china it earned more than 9 times more than what it earned here, making it one of the best grossing Indian movie, infact it had earned half of India's total box office in just preticket sales alone and it grossed double of India's total box office in one week alone. It was the MOST popular movie in Chinese theatres and even beat big Chinese and Hollywood movies running in theatres there.

i always wanted to know what caused the boom around dangal in china but never ended researching about it. thanks for making this essay.

Looks interesting. After seeing RRR, I am definately interested in experiencing more Indian cinema

1. For people who don’t know, the Phogat Sisters and Mahavir are actual athletes. 2. You are right about, Mahavir being flawed. However it was during the time where women didn’t have any rights to begin with. And his methods of raising them was the most anyone could expect from any parent in that time period. 3. The movie has the female perspective as well (2nd half of the film). Also I would argue that the film, majorily being told through a male’s perspective isn’t a bad thing at all. The story that benefits from Mahavir’s perspective in the first half. And then we look into Geeta’s head in the second half providing us both aa goood perspective shift.

I had seen multiple news articles in Indian newspapers and websites claiming the massive success of "Dangal" in China. But none of them explained 'why'. This is very insightful, thank you for enlightening the audience.

Your videos make my entire week! As one of your Indian subscribers, I really appreciate you for talking about actually good Bollywood movies. Even though Bollywood is very famous globally, I don't see many people doing a deep dive about the movie or actually appreciating it for what it is. Thanks a lot for this video, looking forward to the next one!

The social commentary was really well done, and felt like it came from understanding of all sides

One of the best videos you've done. The analysis of both Indian and Chinese culture towards women was spot on and struck a chord with my upbringing and the people around me. Although it might not be the intent, but I think this is one of your most emotional videos yet. Thank you.

Dangal is the best movie about Olympic wrestling. The techniques are legit. Heck, they actually made Wrestling more interesting than US ever did.

I've never cried so much watching a movie as I did when I first watched Dangal. I cried again watching your video. Thank you for sharing this movie with all of us and for your lovely interpretation of it through the lenses of the Chinese audience.

The new transition looks so good! It looks exquisite!

Your editing work for this video is great!

I've mostly heard of Chinese parents raising baby sons as girls, if they are afraid they won't survive to adulthood. The implication seems to be that since girls are "less valuable🙄," they're less likely to be killed by misfortune, jealous evil spirits, bad karma, etc, so the baby boys are disguised for their protection. My grandfather had his ears pierced as a baby and was given a "cute/girly" childhood nickname for this reason, since his parents had lost 9 children to disease by the time he was born.

Yeah, this movie really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you for making this video!

What a well made video! Keep up the good work. Thank you for posting this.

Videos like this one are the reason of why i suscribed to your channel. Thank you accented cinema. Greetings from Argentina!

This is what I recently realized about Asia in general. We are the most diverse in terms of cultural, race, and religion, hell even by some ignorant western standards, we covered almost the whole spectrum of skin colors: from the fairest to the darkest, we have it all. But even with all of these differences, there are a lot of similarities that we share. We might even have slightly more similarities than we know of. That's why a movie like this is easily resonates with the Asian audience, while if the same type of movie will almost certainly don't receive the same reaction if it were western made.

Wow, one of the best, of no the best, of your channel. I really appreciate your effort on presenting such beautiful movies.

Once again a beautiful review!

being an INDIAN i was too late to this movie but, i finally watched it few weeks ago and i was blown away, regret not watching it in the theatre, it was a masterpeice.

I watched it a long time ago and I still remember this film to this day, Im glad that it is getting recognition it deserves ❤

Wonderful insights! Thank you very much for this video!

as a chinese person I cannot express how much i love 摔跤吧爸爸, its truly something else, after watching this film and secretsuperstar, me and my cousin started learning the lyrics of the indian songs, i still remember how to sing meri pyaari ami, like its soo good.

Entertainment that transcends cultures is really great.

After all these years i still wonder how this movie did more business in china than in India itself. 388 crore in India against 1300 crore in china. Still a huge mistery.

Man that point in 7:20 is so true. Great video!

Man you are the best! You explained the topic very well

I dont remember exactly where i saw this movie poster pop up but i passed up on it since i was busy. Now i want to watch it.

Firstly, great video! Secondly, I think it's great that "speaking out" is becoming easier for people suffering various forms of oppression and prejudice. I, a European man, have also unwillingly judged other people for various reasons, but I'm glad that I am taking many steps to no make the same mistakes again. I'm not perfect at it and sometimes still act/speak without thinking of the consequences that my actions might have for the other person, but I'm happy that it seems a supra-cultural phenomenon and many of us are all doing our best to include others rather than ostricazing them.

This is excellent. Thanks for the wonderful insight!

As usual great content... thanks.

Can't wait to see Aamir Khan returning on the big screen by the end of 2024. Hope so he returns with a masterpiece like Dangal and secret superstar rather than a remake like lal Singh Chadda

Saw it with a friend. Was reluctant at first but got swayed because Amir Khan (aka the GOAT) was starring in it. Turned out much better than i thought, it is funny, entertaining, has good stakes and storytelling, and makes you think.

Bro ilove your videos so much, it is just filled with so much passion.

Do more of these please!

Also, based on the story of Phogat family. A lot of things in the movie were added or changed for dramatic effect but it was a great movie

This movie has a special place in Indian cinema And more so than that, an Main Stream actor portraying this harsh reality is what grabbed my eyes the most While most of the mainstream actors are money blinded, amir khan is one of the few I respect in the mainstream media A very harsh, much needed video An Amazing job 👍🙏

Loved the video. Best wishes

Thank you for sharing this film.

The story is shown in a male perspective because this movie is the biopic of Mahavir Singh Phogat.

Bro, India and China have much more in common in terms of culture than the west.. I wish our countries were good friends.. love from India.

This was beautifully made, explained and analysed. As an Indian, thank you.

Loved this!

What I absolutely love about this movie is the realistic portrayal of all the characters which is not commonly seen in such "inspirational sports dramas" all across the world. Every character is a bit likeable and also a bit unlikeable. For example we as an audience love Mahavir when he starts adopting a seemingly progressive mindset and starts training his daughters to help them become renowned wrestlers but he also comes across as a bit unlikeable when he becomes too stern and starts asserting his authority on his daughters i.e how he forcefully makes them exercise, doesn't let them dress up the way they want, cuts their hair against their will etc. And the same goes for Geeta i.e when she comes back home to visit her family, she becomes overly condescending and looks down on her family and disdains their way of living which is very common among teenagers and fairly young people but it isn't actually shown in movies because it detracts from audience's banal fairytales about the life of an athlete. The characters in the movies aren't flawless just like us humans in real life.

As you mentionned, the father is still living vicariously through his daughters and depriving them of a healthy chilchood. The argument that their lives could have been way worse is indeed no justification. Still, interesting movie and great analysis and not just of its success in China. Thank you.

this is off topic but it has happened enough times that i want to mention it. for some reason, i always get goosebumps when the name Wu Zetien is mentioned. even her sounds so majestic that manages to incite goosebumps everytime, without fail. though i know next to nothing about her

it makes me extremely happy to know so many women found strength from this movie. art really does transcends language, distance and barriers. thank you for sharing this

You mentioned how boys are beaten up straight to fulfill the expectations while girls aren't even worth that expectation, that is true for India as well. The Hindi movie "Udaan" encapsulates the male prospect of the aforementioned fact really well. I must suggest that movie to you. Parents and their expectations forced onto their children, Children and their dreams barely surviving and the subsequent clash between the two forces is portrayed really well. I would love to see your takes on it and how this problem compares to problems in China.

In Brazil, the patriarchy is quite strong and constant... with all of the latino stereotypes and religious pressures. as a flawed man myself, that spent way too much time in my life as a Toxic Womanizer, i now value strong women that step away from bowing their heads down to societal pressures, and movies like this really bring a tear to my eye as a hint at a much better future of equality for the next generations to come.

goddamn such a perfect narration...i just subscribed u

that last line was so heartbreaking

Been meaning to watch this for a while as Aamir Khan is one of my favorite actors in Indian cinema, just hadn't had the time. I'll need to bump this up in my list. IMO also the Netflix description doesn't do it enough justice.

I gotta see this movie now.

Watching this video really brought big, fat tears to my eyes. This movie is a deep emotion within the Indian audience, which integrates so many social issues without it feeling "preachy", or feeling like its lecturing you, which is why I think it was received very well by even the underprivileged communities in India who still harbor such beliefs and biases, and made so many of us rethink our perspective. What I do feel sad about, however, is that both India and China, 2 great nations known throughout history as enemies have, one of the only times, found something common to relate to, and that ends up being about topics like this and on educational systems in 3 idiots, which I have heard is another really popular Indian movie that blew up in China

Very well crafted.

This move was so beautifully put together.

As a Swede I don't really know much about any of the culture behind raising a woman like a son- if anything I'm surprised to see that it actually happens for real, when the only exposure I've had to this phenomena have been when anime use it as a way to have a girl character get closet to a male lead, but oooh nooo she's never been allowed to wear girly things or live life as a stereotypical girly girl, so when the male lead tells a girl who's usually dressed in androgynous clothing that she can dress in long dresses she feels so ~free and liberated~ to be allowed to be a girly girl! Suffice to say I thought it was sexist nonsense, but now I learn that... well, it IS sexist nonsense but with some actual backing in real world history and not the kind of nonsense I thought it was. Quite a ride to learn all that...

Great video my friend :)

you are amazing, keep it up

Naomi Wu has talked openly about being raised as a boy and how it somewhat influenced their hyperfeminine appearance as an adult. It’s interesting that there weren’t many studies on it since it seems like it’s been common for so many years.

Great vid man! Chori Dhakkad hai (girl is a power punch) P.s. no big deal just saying its Gheeta (like Bhagvat ghita) not vagita Geeta

Very well made

I praise the day I decided to follow this channel.

As an Indian I too want to know about and watch some good Chinese movies. My fav. One to date is 'Kungfu Hustle'. I don't know if that is considered a Hongkong one or a proper Chinese. Whatever be the case, I just love the movie. Have watched literally over a dozen times.

Now that u have seen dangal, there is another movie named Chak de India it too is kind of similar to dangal. Watch it you might enjoy it.

Great to have this insight. It only helps drive home the point that, at the end of the day - we might look, eat and appear different. But these differences are only superficial. The same biases and injustices exist no matter where you go. We are similar in both the good and bad.

The end national song brought me to tears❤

There was one more movie 3 idiots of aamir khan which created waves across china. Can you please make a video on it aswell? It discuss a lot about education system and challeges

I always find Chinese analysis to be most detailed. Thanks for sharing. (Indian)

Nice essay! Can you do Wandering Earth II next?

Cool video!