Khan, who also has won a huge fan base in China through such blockbusters as 3 Idiots, PK and Secret Superstar, shared a similar view.

With a filmmaking career spanning over three decades, Khan said his criteria in selecting a script involve not trying to estimate the audience's reaction, but determining whether the tale touches him.

"I feel the deeper you go into our own culture, the more international the film will be," said Khan.

The formula evidently works: Khan's interpretation of a stubborn, hard-bitten former wrestler has made Dangal the highest-grossing Indian film of all time in China, earning 1.3 billion yuan in 2017.

Khan said only a few Chinese films have been widely released in India, and he would like to see more Chinese films screened in his country to help locals get to know the culture and life of their neighboring country.

In what may come as a surprise even to his most diehard Chinese fans, Khan said he is fascinated with the story of Wei Xiaobao, a rags-to-riches protagonist created by martial arts novelist Louis Cha for his classic The Deer and the Cauldron.

Khan's attraction to Wei's fictional account, set during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is a good example of how a tale that examines the complexity of humanity can cross borders, said Yin Hong, a professor at Tsinghua University.

He said the most successful movies are not those tailored to cater to the market, but the stories that convey emotion and value.

In North America, the top-earning Chinese films remain Ang Lee's Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Zhang Yimou's martial arts epic Hero, said Yin.

Although it's no secret that martial arts flicks have earned a place for Chinese films in the West, Yin said those two films stand out for their reflection of Chinese moral values.

Hong Kong director Stanley Tong recalled he was hooked by Charlie Chaplin's emotional comedies when he was a child in 1960s.

"Love, fear and hatred, as well as respecting elders and protecting children, are shared and understood in all times in all countries, and they can all be told in films," Tong said.