Kung fu connections

Photo by Katherine Rodriguez / for China Daily

He found harmony in his new country, adopting a Chinese name that's a hybrid of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan's names. He began taking melodious Chinese music and mixing it with traditional Indian tunes.

He also fell for a soft-spoken native of Shanxi province who taught him Chinese idioms and cooked him local food.

"We think alike," says his girlfriend Ren Jing.

And, dispelling misconceptions between the two countries became one of Chaudhari's missions.

He hosts a website where people can raise questions about China or India.

"Bad news travels fast," explaining why certain images of the neighbors are not entirely true. "And I want to provide the facts (to hopefully fill in the whole picture)."

He treasures his 2010 appearance on a CCTV talk show where he answered questions about India's packed trains, marriage rituals, singing and dancing (not that prevalent at all), and also showed off his nunchaku skills and a yoga performances.

"It showed my identity," he says.

"He's a typical enthusiast of Chinese culture, honest and true," says Bai Shan, who was the program's director back then.

"He struck me with his persistence in learning about China and bridging the two countries. I'm touched."

And now, Chaudhari has another role model — the Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis who helped China with his medical expertise during World War II and died in the war. He portrayed the doctor in a recent documentary and now, he too vows that "I want to have my tombstone in China".

But before that happens, Chaudhari wants to start a yoga class, produce music and act in a movie. He also wants to open a small school for rural kids.

"I have too many goals," he says.