The Indian Image Represented by Chinese-Indian Co-production “Kung Fu Yoga” under the One Belt One Road Initiative

Abstract

The Chinese–Indian co-production Kung Fu Yoga is regarded by China as a concrete manifestation in film and television of the cooperation between the countries in the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI）, which was launched in 2013. The purpose of this production is to strengthen film and television cooperation as well as to promote cultural exchanges between China and India. On the basis of the critical discourse analysis of N. Fairclough, this study demonstrates that Kung Fu Yoga failed to objectively represent the image of India, which led to a remarkable contrast in box office performance and overall evolution in the two countries. Therefore, challenges exist for China in strengthening ‘people’s heart communication’ in the ‘five links’ through co- productions with countries in the BRI.

Keywords:   One Belt One Road, Chinese-Indian co-productions, Kung Fu Yoga, Indian Image