Aamir Khan: Movies can connect different cultures

"I feel the deeper you go into our own culture, the more international the film will be," said Indian film star Aamir Khan at the 5th Annual Conference of the Taihu World Cultural Forum on Oct 17.

From Dangal to Secret Superstar to the latest Hichki, Bollywood hits have stirred up waves of popularity among Chinese moviegoers over recent years. Bollywood top actor Khan has cemented his major-celebrity status in China with of social relevance.

According to him, people living anywhere in the world are emotionally involved. Be it national conditions or social background, people are touched by good stories.

"For instance, I cried after watching an Italian movie on World War II. Though I was not involved in that period, the movie manages to send me back to the tragic times and generated great empathy in me with those victims. Likewise, my interpretation of a stubborn, hard-bitten former wrestler in Dangal has made Chinese families aware about the great love of an Indian father for the daughter," the film star said.

Last year, his biographical sports film Dangal, inspired by the real journey of an Indian wrestler through a conservative landscape to turn his daughters into world-class athletes, made nearly 1.3 billion yuan ($188 million) in box office performance, marking the highest-grossing Indian film of all time in China.