Inside a cinema in downtown Beijing on Tuesday, audiences were surprised to find the ceiling and walls covered with discussions in Chinese about the Indian film Baahubali: The Beginning.

At the film's preview, viewers were able to type their comments on a phone app that were then projected on the walls and ceiling.

Baahubali: The Beginning was released last year in India and many other countries in Telugu and Tamil, two languages of southern India. It is among the most expensive films made in India.

As the only Indian blockbuster to squeeze into China's fiercely competitive summer season box office, the action epic will open in theaters on the mainland in 2-D and Dmax formats on Friday.

Some Chinese streaming sites had put out high-quality subtitled portions of the film months ago for their subscribers.

The film has received critical acclaim in the United States, with scores such as 8.5 of 10 being given on IMDb and 88 percent audience appreciation on Rotten Tomatoes.

For some industry watchers in China, the danmu screening in Beijing was an effective way to entice local fans.

Danmu, or "bullet screening", allows audience comments to be projected on surfaces like bullets. Since it became popular in Japan in 2006, the idea has been spread on online video sites.

Led by Indian actors Prabhas and Rana Daggubati, Baahubali: The Beginning, is about a banished prince's fight against a feuding tyrant.

In the works for four years prior to its release, two years were spent on the script and props, including a royal palace, more than 1,000 ancient Indian costumes and thousands of weapons.

Around 600 designers from 16 international studios were hired to work on the visual effects, making it one of the most visually impressive Indian films of all time.

He Wei, the film's Chinese distributor, says the original 159-minute version has been re-edited to a condensed 129-minute version for Chinese audiences.

"Indian moviegoers usually have an intermission break. But Chinese audiences favor a faster pace, so we've optimized the content," he says.

The shortened version has been cut by French editor Vincent Tabaillon, known for Hollywood mega-budget titles such as The Incredible Hulk and Now You See Me.

(China Daily USA 07/21/2016 page8)