Hollywood curbs in China lift hopes for Indian movies

Fragmented distribution is a hurdle, but producers with steady pipelines can benefit from current demand

- Lata Jha

Indian films could benefit from a window of opportunity in China, which said it would restrict imports of Hollywood movies in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariff war escalation with Beijing. China works on a quota system for foreign films, and had prioritised US movies so far. But that could change with the latest curbs, making room for 20-30 Indian films every year. Earlier this year, Nithilan Saminathan's Tamil action thriller Maharaja, starring Vijay Sethupathi, earned ₹100 crore in China, emerging as the highest-grossing Indian film in the last five years.