After Baahubali 2, Akshay Kumar's Toilet: Ek Prem Katha gears for China release; film clears censorship process

Following back to back successes of Indian films – Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Hindi Medium – this year in China, SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster war epic Baahubali 2 is all set to hit screens on 4 May,  as reported earlier . Now, Firstpost has exclusively learned that Akshay Kumar’s satirical comedy-drama Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, has cleared the censorship process in the world’s second-largest movie market. Although there is no clarity on the release date yet, the local distributor hopes to get the film on screens in June after Baahubali: The Conclusion completes its theatrical run. If Toilet: Ek Prem Katha doesn’t settle for a release date before June end, it may have to wait until September since Chinese regulators have reserved six weeks between July and August for only local films. [caption id=“attachment_4025775” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  A still from Toilet: Ek Prem Katha[/caption] Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Salman Khan’s blockbuster sports drama Sultan were recently screened at the 8th Beijing International Film Festival in the Horizon section of Beijing Film Panorama. TEPK director Shree Narayan Singh and producer Shital Bhatia of Friday Filmworks attended the screening and participated in a post-screening Q & A session with the audience. Interestingly, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha will be Akshay Kumar’s second film to release in mainland cinemas after his debut Chandni Chowk to China, which had a limited release and sank without a trace at the box-office. Meanwhile, Salman Khan’s Sultan still has a long way to go. Estar Films, who acquired the film’s China theatrical rights, has sold it to local player Joy Pictures who also distributed Salman Khan’s recent hit Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The Kabir Khan-directed film winded up its PRC run with an excellent lifetime haul of $45.3 million, propelling its global total to Rs 905.3 Cr. Sultan is yet to clear the censorship process and will be Salman Khan’s second film to enter China. Sources say Sultan may either see the light of day towards the end of this year or early 2019. [caption id=“attachment_4277791” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  In 2016, Salman played the role of Sultan, a fictional wrestling champion, which added another feather to his hat. Image from Twitter/@sultanthemovie[/caption] The performance of Indian films in China this year has already left the local distributors happy and excited. While Secret Superstar ($118 million) is the eighth highest-grossing film of 2018 in China and the third highest-grossing import film of this year, Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s lifetime revenue in the PRC is more than Hollywood’s sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 2018 is the first year in the history of China to have more than three Indian films release in the world’s fastest-growing and lucrative movie market.