India hopes to lean on Bollywood to bolster ties

India has sought more space in China's entertainment industry, in a sign of growing confidence in its cinematic exports to the country.

Visiting Indian officials recently proposed the creation of two additional "working groups", one on culture and the other on pharmaceuticals, under an existing bilateral mechanism that covers infrastructure, technology, energy, resource conservation and policy coordination.

In his opening remarks at the fifth meeting of the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing on April 14, Rajiv Kumar, the deputy chairman of India's main economic planning body, Niti Aayog, called for the liberalization of China's entertainment sector.

"We would like to expose the Chinese population to some more Indian movies," Kumar said at the session that was briefly open to media.

The India-proposed cultural committee could include entertainment, Kumar added.

So far, there has been no response on the subject from China.

The chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, He Lifeng, and other officials were present at the economic dialogue.

Kumar cited the success in China of the Hindi film Dangal during his address.

The biopic of an Indian wrestler who trains his daughters to become world-class athletes in a conservative, small-town setting where women are mostly engaged in household activities, found favor with Chinese film critics and the box office alike. It was released in China in 2017.