The heart-wrenching storyline of a film with comedic elements is attracting much global media attention by offering hope to all those suffering from some form of cancer.

Thousands of Chinese cancer patients struggling with life-threatening conditions have moved many to tears across China and India after the film about Indian medicine became a mega hit in Chinese theaters and went viral over social media sites. 

The captivating story even attracted the attention of the Chinese government, helping to bring down the prices of anti-cancer drugs and promoting greater efforts to ensure their supply. The film that is doing all this is the Chinese black comedy "Dying to Survive," starring comedy superstar and director Xu Zheng. 

So many optimistic messages have emerged from it. From an Indian perspective, the film has improved its image as well as promoting the huge popularity of Indian cancer drugs in China.  

From Chinese perspective, the film sheds light on the struggles of Chinese cancer patients in accessing affordable medication. The human appeal of the film has stirred the top levels of the Chinese government. On July 18, China's Premier Li Keqiang instructed government regulators to "speed up cuts in cancer treatment prices." 

What should be mentioned is that, on average, eight people are diagnosed with cancer every minute in China and six of them will die of their disease, according to a China Daily report published on July 19, 2018.

The Wen Muye-directed, 117-minute film is loosely based on the real-life story of a leukemia patient, Lu Yong of east China's Jiangsu Province, who smuggled unapproved generic cancer treatment medication from India to China to treat himself and fellow patients who couldn't afford the high price of the licensed version available in China. 

In 2014, he was arrested for selling "fake" drugs. However, the drug Lu bought wasn't exactly fake; it was simply a low-cost Indian generic drug, Veenat which is essentially as effective as an approved medication like Gleevec, made by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG. 

Lu's case attracted wide Chinese media attention, and the charges against Lu were eventually dropped following a public outcry, especially from over 1,000 patients whose lives had been extended by his efforts. However, the protagonist in the film, Cheng Yong, is not a leukemia patient, but a snake oil salesman.

Since its release in Chinese theaters on July 6, "Dying to Survive" has become a box office juggernaut. According to a report published on China.org.cn on July 17, the film earned 2.46 billion yuan ($368 million) in only 11 days, becoming this summer's biggest Chinese blockbuster. 

On the website of ticket provider Maoyan, the film scored an aggregate of 9.7 out of 10. 

Chinese film celebrities, critics and fans have been showering praise on it. Actor Huang Xiaoming said, "Even though I'm not in the movie, as a filmmaker, I feel proud to watch it." Director Wen Muye called the film "China's first social hero film." 

Undoubtedly, the film's depiction of suffering of leukemia patients who couldn't afford branded drugs has won the hearts of Chinese movie-goers and awakened their consciousness of the deep issues involved.

Another important reflection of this realistic drama is that the film once again shows Chinese audiences are receptive to deep-seated societal issues despite the growing popularity of Hollywood commercial flicks. When the Indian blockbuster film "Dangal" (about a father struggling to help his two daughters become Olympic wrestling champions) took the Chinese film industry by storm last year, Yin Hong, a professor at the Tsinghua University and a film critic, told the Beijing Evening News that Dangal had "taught Chinese cinema a lesson."

In his words, "We have so many champions in China but we have failed to make a decent sports movie. This is a case worthy of reflection." China's audiences have often debated why Chinese filmmakers do not make more socially conscious movies like India's "Dangal," "Secret Superstar" or "Hindi Medium."

Perhaps Chinese moviegoers have now got their answer with the overwhelming success of "Dying to Survive."

But the most important outcome of this social drama is that it has brought India and China closer in promoting India-China pharmaceutical trade cooperation. On July 9, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying revealed the two countries had agreed to slash tariffs on the import of Indian medicines, including cancer medicines. 

While announcing the agreement, she referred to the film. "There is a popular movie now in China called 'Dying to Survive.' That movie is about zero tariff imposition on anti-cancer medicines in China," she said.

Surely, China's import of Indian drugs will reduce India's trade deficit with China which stood at over $51 billion in 2016-17. More importantly, cheap Indian cancer curing medicines will provide the ray of hope to the desolate lives of leukemia patients in China, which, overall, has 4.29 million new cancer patients and 2.81 million people dying of cancer each year.

As this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, addressing the opening ceremony of the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in April, President Xi Jinping pledged to further open up China's economy to the rest of the world. Surely, removing tariffs on imported drugs as well as reducing the prices of cancer treatment drugs is a vibrant example of China's commitment to opening up its market. 

Based on information from China's Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui, The Times of India reported on May 4 that China had removed duties on 28 medicines that will certainly benefit Indian pharmaceutical companies in their further research.

The author is the cultural secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, based in West Bengal, India. 

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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