The 2017 Tamil blockbuster Mersal, directed by Atlee and starring Vijay in three roles, is set to be released in China later this year or in early 2019, Variety reported. The film will be dubbed in Mandarin Chinese.
Mersal is the first Tamil production set for a China release. China’s HGC Entertainment has the rights for the Tamil hit’s release in the country.
Co-written by Baahubali writer KV Vijayendra Prasad, Mersal tells the story of two brothers, a doctor and a magician, who join hands to expose the corrupt Indian medical industry. The supporting cast includes Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Akkineni and Nithya Menen. The film earned a reported Rs 250 crores worldwide, and is currently the fifth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.
Since the blockbuster success of Dangal in China, several Indian films have been released there, including Secret Superstar and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Mersal, besides being a blockbuster in India, revolves around the medical profession, which is also the subject of the 2018 Chinese blockbuster Dying to Survive. “That has the potential to resonate with mainstream Chinese audiences,” Variety notes.
Dying to Survive is about a man who sidesteps the Chinese medical system and imports inexpensive pharmaceutical drugs from India.