TV shows, especially based on Hindu mythology from India, are becoming popular among Chinese on the internet. Not only that, a lot of young Chinese have volunteered to write subtitles for these shows, helping them further expand their outreach to a larger audience.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Indian Hindi soap operas such as Naagin, Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev, the 2013 series based on Mahabharat and Buddha-Rajaon Ka Raja have become the new rage among Chinese online viewers. In fact, the first four episodes of the second season of Naagin had almost 200,000 views on China’s widely used video-sharing website Bilibili, according to a Global Times report.

Yang Buhui, 29, started her own group last year and works in the gaming industry and is fascinated by Indian mythology and philosophy. Yang loves Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev.

“Indian mythology itself is just fascinating. Its philosophy and worldview, which are very exotic, have been a wonderful new world to me. I love the drama because it's a key to the world of Indian mythology. Besides, the actors and actresses are not only gorgeous, but their acting skills are good,” the Global Times quoted Yang saying.

While the Indian drama shows were aired on state broadcaster CCTV’s entertainment channel, they were less popular over their US, South Korean or Japanese rival TV series. But Indian TV series are gaining popularity over both different contents as well as looks of actors in the series.

The Chinese audience will soon get a taste of Bollywood movies as well with the Aamir Khan-starred Dangal set to be released this Friday across China. The actor was recently in China to promote his movie and received huge response among local fans.

Bollywood and Indian cinema is the country’s biggest soft power and helps in establishing the brand value of India, says a film and TV ad producer from Mumbai.

“If there is one huge soft power India has, it is Bollywood and cinema. We have seen how the IIFA awards have been doing well at different locations abroad. Already Bollywood movies are very popular across South East Asia. Shahrukh Khan is very popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and other countries. China is the next logical destination,” Anupam Shukla, Director, P & A Media Ventures Private Ltd, told Sputnik.