The limited response to Kung-Fu Yoga indicates that China still has some way to go before it reaches its goal of being a global film influencer and having effective and organic soft power. However, the muted response to the film by Indian viewers and the limited impact the film is having in other international markets indicates that Chinese films made with Chinese audiences in mind may struggle to garner success outside of China. The success of Kung-Fu Yoga in China may be used by both Chinese and Indian governments as evidence of the co-production agreement succeeding. However, China with its various ministries of culture and propaganda appears to take a more controlled, top-down approach, limiting the spontaneous, bottom-up cultural influence that has been so effective for other countries (notably the US). The basic principle of soft power is that it spreads organically, coming from the culture itself and not from a government-issued directive as Joseph Nye states, soft power is generally more successful when it is not a 'dictated program'. This is illustrative of the wider challenges facing China's soft power strategy. For example, when talking about the burgeoning Sino-US film relationship, Wang observed that both China and the US would benefit from more joint productions, but warned Hollywood would need to 'cater to Chinese tastes'.īut is this a fundamental flaw of China's quest for global film domination? Are Chinese tastes able to transcend all cultural boundaries? As Kung-Fu Yoga shows, the tastes of Chinese and Indian audiences can be radically different. Yet as China's place in the world grows, so too will its film industry become more proactive. Up to now, China has been content to further its stakes in the film industry via co-productions and partnering with international film companies. Jack Ma, China's second-richest man and founder of internet giant Alibaba, has also expressed an interest in furthering his investment in Hollywood, and in 2015 purchased a stake in Steven Spielberg's firm. Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, is driving this push, with his investment in a number of Hollywood production houses including Legendary Entertainment and Dick Clark Studios. Under the stewardship of Xi, China has become a major player in every international field, but its soft power strategy is still in a nascent stage.Ĭhina has thus become increasingly active in the film industry to wrest back control of the narrative being told about it. Chinese audiences weren't put off by the cultural misappropriations, with the film topping the film charts in the week to 5 February, grossing over $US140 million.īadged as an example of Sino-Indian film cooperation, Kung-Fu Yoga can also be viewed as part of China's wider soft power strategy. These criticisms were mirrored in Indian audiences' response to the film, with paltry ticket sales (there were reports of only 14 viewers at an opening screening in Mumbai). Though the objective of the Sino-Indian co-production agreement was to bring together the two country's film industries (and by extension lead to closer ties between the erstwhile rivals), the greatest criticism of Kung-Fu Yoga is that it 'reaffirms stereotypes about India' without dispelling many of the mistaken beliefs about India that still exist in China. But while it has been well received in China, Indian film critics have widely panned the movie, with reviews calling it a ' mangled mess' and a ' snoozefest masquerading as a film'. The film is pitched as an Indiana Jones-esque Sino-Indian cross-cultural romp. The film centres on Chan's character, a Chinese archaeologist, who teams up with an Indian counterpart to find lost treasure in Tibet. Kung-Fu Yoga stars Jackie Chan and is directed by long-time Chan collaborator Stanley Tong. However, in late 2015, Viacom 18 pulled out of the project, making it exclusively a Chinese production.
The film was originally intended to be a joint venture between Chinese production companies Shinework Media and Taihe Entertainment and Viacom 18, the Indian branch of the American production company Viacom Inc. It is the second of three films coming from the agreement. Kung-Fu Yoga was the result of a co-production agreement bringing together China and India's film industries, signed between China and India during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in 2014. This has further implications on China's quest for wider soft power. Despite China's best efforts to make its mark on the global film industry, the lukewarm response to the recent Chinese-Indian joint venture film Kung-Fu Yoga suggests that global domination by the Chinese film industry is still some way off.
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