'Mimi Choo said this may be her last film': King of Hawkers director on veteran actress' absence from publicity events

It seems like veteran singer-actress Mimi Choo may really be taking a break from the entertainment industry this time.

Despite playing an important character in local director Kelvin Sng's new movie King of Hawkers, the 69-year-old was absent from its publicity events held last September and is not joining the press tour in Malaysia and Singapore now.

Kelvin, 49, revealed the reason to AsiaOne during an interview on Tuesday (Feb 20).

"Mimi has intentions of retiring to rest, she said she is feeling very tired," he shared.

Kelvin said they had invited her to the publicity events, but she said it was "not very convenient" for her to attend as she wasn't feeling very energetic.

Mimi surprised audiences at the Sheng Siong Show last November when she said that she "wants to retire" and is "not doing this anymore". When contacted later, she revealed that she contracted Meniere's disease a few years ago and would relapse from time to time, resulting in her having to rest and postpone her plans.

Kelvin added: "Mimi told our producer that this may be her last film… We tried to invite her multiple times [to the publicity events], but she said, 'It's okay, you can carry on [without me.]'"

King of Hawkers centres around Zhang Nala (Dawn Yeoh), who returns to Singapore from Hong Kong with her daughter (Gini Chang) to restart her life at her family-run bak chor mee stall after divorcing Li Guozhong (Collin Chee).

Operating next to Nala's stall are others selling local food, such as Ah Lau's Cantonese Cuisine, run by Liu Derong (Hugo Ng) and Bestest Indian Food, which is operated by Raja (Das DD). When Guozhong's company organises a competition to buy over their recipes and businesses, the hawkers work together to retain their legacy.

Mimi plays the domineering Mrs Lee, who is Guozhong's mother and fiercely protective of him. Although she disapproves of Nala, who married Guozhong 20 years ago after they had a child out of wedlock, she secretly appreciates her cooking.

Kelvin also said he hopes to achieve $1.5 million in the box office, adding that he would make a sequel if so.

While this seems like a rather achievable amount, Kelvin said that he doesn't want to give himself too much expectations for now.

When AsiaOne asked if he already has a plot for the sequel, he shared that he does and plans to have most of the characters and actors return.

"We hope to make the movie on a larger scale to include delicacies from both Singapore and Malaysia," said Kelvin, adding that King of Hawkers is currently in talks to be shown in cinemas in North America, China and possibly Hong Kong.

King of Hawkers, which also stars veteran singer-actress Liu Lingling, local actors Ryan Lian and Asher Su, Hong Kong actors Anita Chui and Moses Cheng and Filipino actor Kimson Tan, opens in Singapore cinemas today.

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