MUMBAI, Jan 19: The first Hindi film to be shot on location in China has been poorly received by audiences and critics, in a fresh blow to Hollywood’s bid to break into the lucrative Indian market.

“Chandni Chowk to China”, a co-production with US studio Warner Brothers about a lowly Indian chef who is mistaken for the reincarnation of a fabled Chinese warrior, opened in cinemas on Friday.

“I watched the film in theatres and everyone was hooting and jeering,” Indian comic actor Shekhar Suman told the Midday newspaper on Monday.

“I don’t think there has been a film as sad or horrible as ‘Chandni Chowk to China’. I declare Jan 16 (the day the film was released) to be declared National Mourning in India, as it’s the day cinema died.” Critics were equally negative, amid reports that scheduled screenings of the action-comedy were being reduced across the country.

Trade analyst Amod Mehra told the Mumbai Mirror newspaper Monday: “ ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ is a disaster. The film has no script, no action and no China.—AFP