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Dangal Is Creating Box Office History In China But Not Everyone Is Happy

“The father’s values make me vomit."
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Aamir Khan's "Dangal" has raked in over Rs 500 crores in China, becoming the highest grossing Bollywood film in the country, but many viewers are upset about the feminist themes portrayed in the film.

According to media reports, a debate about feminism has broken out on Chinese social media with some viewers criticising the film's "patriarchial" values.

Chinese national daily, Global Times, quoted a viewer as saying,"The father's values make me vomit; he forces his daughters to live a certain type of life with his dream, with money and becoming a champion. You think the movie is about breaking gender stereotypes, but actually it's knee-deep in prejudice."

While the film has struck a chord with many viewers, the backlash on the film reflects China's discomfort over feminism, say gender experts.

HT reported Wei Tingting, director of the Guangzhou Gender and Sexuality Education Centre, as saying that although only a small proportion of posts on Dangal were "critical feminist comments, they were often met with long diatribes."

"Women who want more gender equality are anxious about defending their own rights and therefore apply feminism to every issue, while some men feel challenged by women's rising status and attack feminism," Tingting said.

Meanwhile, Xinhua News Agency noted the reasons for the film's success were its themes of breaking gender stereotypes and "well-written storyline and excellent acting."

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.