Indian movie star Aamir Khan has upped the ante again. His musical drama "Secret Superstar" got a massive response in China after it's release on January 19, becoming the second Indian film to top the Chinese box office in less than a year. Picking up some of the paces of his earlier film “Dangal,” “Secret Superstar” grossed 27 million US dollars during its opening weekend. 

Last year, a pair of wrestling sisters shattered Chinese box-office records with its feel-good feminism, and this year, a small-town songstress is on a quest to win hearts and rewrite history. 

The film reunites actors Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim, who played father and daughter in last year’s wrestling drama “Dangal,” the highest-grossing Indian movie of all time in China. 

Though the protagonist is a 15-year-old aspiring singer, “Secret Superstar” breaks from the stereotypical Bollywood song-and-dance sequences. 

Instead, it again brings social issues like gender equality and domestic violence to the fore, exploring the challenges the teenage heroine - played by Wasim - faces in her conservative family.

Such films have proven popular with Chinese audiences, as domestic productions rarely wrestle with these topics.

Aamir Khan enjoys a big following in China. One audience said: "I'm a big fan of Khan. He represents quality movies. Like Dangal, Three Idiots and PK, all good films."

Others thought the storytelling touched them."Although the story is a bit cliche, the director has made it unique and it really touched me." 

"You don't see a lot of films reflecting social issues in China. I think that's why these Indian films are so popular here." So far, "Secret Superstar" has already earned more than 410 million yuan in ticket sales and a remarkable score of 8 out of 10 on movie-rating website Douban. It is also the first Indian movie to secure a box-office split in the country. In the past, filmmakers sold rights to domestic distributors for a flat fee.

Zhang Jiaxing, staff member of UME Cinema-Shuangjing Branch said, "We plan the screening according to the film’s performance. If it’s popular we’ll plan more screenings. So for 'Secret Superstar,' currently it’s about 20%. I think no matter what country the film is from, as long as it's a quality production, we'll import it. Audiences can expect a more diversified selection of films." 

Meanwhile, audiences in Beijing can expect another Indian production soon. Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan will hit cinemas in China during the Chinese New year, two years after its release in India.