By Gaurav Sharma

Beijing, May 6 (IANS): Bollywood star Aamir Khan's "Dangal" is on its way to becoming Bollywoods highest-earning film in China, with the movie already grossing over $ 3 million (Rs 21 crore) by the first half of the second day of its release on Saturday.

Aamir is one of the most popular Bollywood actors in China, and his other movies "3 Idiots" and "PK" have done roaring business here before.

"Dangal" -- the actor's latest project -- earned Rs 15 crore on its opening day on Friday in China.

By Saturday noon, it earned 23.4 million yuan (over Rs 21 crore), according to trade insiders on the Chinese box office.

So far, "PK" is the only Indian movie to have crossed Rs 100 crore in China and it had done so in 16 days since its release.

It's a mark which could well be surpassed by "Dangal" -- a story of a gritty wrestler in India's small town who trains his two daughters to become world-class wrestlers.

"Dangal" was released as "Shuai Jiao Baba", which means "Let's Wrestle, Dad".

The producers said it would release in a record-breaking 9,000 screens in China, but as per trade experts, it has released in 7,000 screens out of the country's nearly 40,000 screens. According to reports, one of the big cinema chains has not shown interest in the movie. Still, it is doing well.

"My boyfriend and I are planning to watch the movie ('Dangal'). I am hearing great reviews about it," Gu Xiaoling told IANS.

Other actors in the movie include Sakshi Tanwar, apart from debutantes Fatima Sana Sheikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar.