3 Idiots went viral, PK, Dangal blockbusters: How Aamir Khan became famous in China? Actor gets up, close & personal

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan on February 22 opened on how piracy made his 2007 film ‘3 Idiots’ made him a star in China. The superstar revealed that the film became a massive hit in the country due to illegal downloads and word-of-mouth. While speaking during a session “60 and Not Done- The Screen and Spotlight” at the ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025, Khan said, “Piracy made me a star in China. 3 Idiots went viral there because of piracy."

The Rajkumar Hirani-directed feature, 3 Idiots stars R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Boman Irani. The story is revolved around three college friends and weaved in a message about pursuing one's passion and defying social conventions.

The Bollywood superstar added that, "The credit goes to the Chinese audience for accepting a film from a different culture and giving it love and respect. It was all organic and I had no role to play in it,” he added.

Not just 3 Idiots , reports stated that movies like PK, Dangal, and Secret Superstar became massive blockbusters, with Dangal alone raking raked in over ₹1,200 crore at the Chinese box office.

‘When my films fail, I get depressed’

Khan added that he takes a movie failure hard, often reflecting and feeling depressed for about two weeks. “When my films fail, I get depressed. I get emotional and I cry a lot for two to three weeks."

After this process, he feels inspired and eager to tackle upcoming projects with a fresh sense of enthusiasm.

“Later, I sit with my team and think about what went wrong with the film, we try to understand what the audience said about the film, so that we don’t repeat our mistakes. I value my failures.”

"Once I’ve been through that process, then I look forward to working on my upcoming films with enthusiasm. One should take positive things from their failures, it teaches you to be better at work,” said Khan, whose last two releases “Laal Singh Chaddha” and “Thugs of Hindostan” performed abysmally at the box office.

‘Dream to make ‘Mahabharat’’

During the session, Khan also said that he is actively working towards bringing his dream project to life which is a big-screen adaptation of the epic mythological tale Mahabharat.

“It is my dream to make 'Mahabharat', so maybe now I'll be able to think of that dream. Let’s see if I’ll have a role in it to play. What excites me is children's content, I believe in India we make lesser children-related content, usually we import that from abroad, dub it here and release it. I want to make stories about children,” Khan said.

(With inputs from PTI)