After Secret Superstar (2017), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Hindi Medium (2017) and Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017), Toilet: Ek Prem Katha becomes the fifth Indian film to be released in China this year.
The film, starring Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar, will hit the Chinese screens on 8 June.
The film, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, will be retitled Toilet Hero for the local audience. The success of Aamir Khan’s Dangal (2016) in the Chinese market has opened doors wide open for many Indian films to try their luck in the Middle Kingdom.
In fact, a report in the South China Morning Post earlier this May showed that the Aamir Khan-produced Secret Superstar “fared far better in China than in India and made much more than Hollywood blockbusters in the first three months of 2018". Hollywood films have seen their revenue share dip 10% in the last 10 years.
In India, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha grossed Rs132 crore since it released on 11 August 2017. The romance centred its characters around the Swachh Bharat Mission of constructing toilets in village homes. Akshay’s character Keshav marries Pednekar’s Jaya, but eventually she leaves him as she realizes as there is no toilet in his home.
Choreographer Ganesh Acharya was awarded the National Award for Best Choreography for the song 'Latth Maar'.