India, China to ink film production pact during Xi's visit

Beijing, Sep 10: China and India are set to sign a deal for joint production of films during President Xi Jinping's visit next week, which could open the lucrative Chinese market worth USD 4.5 billion a year for Indian movies.

The agreement between Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and TV, (SAPPRFT) was expected to be signed during Xi's visit to India beginning September 17, officials said here.

The pact will focus on productions with joint investments and will take the cooperation between the two countries in films to a new level, Director General of Film Bureau of SAPPRFT told Indian media today.

It will help Indian movies get access to China's market as currently very few Bollywood films are shown in theatres due to stipulation that only 34 foreign movies are allowed to be shown in China every year.

Most of the quota is grabbed by Hollywood movies. Indian officials say the joint production is one way to enter the Chinese market. Dubbing is not a problem as India is adept to dubbing into 22 Indian languages.

PTI