SUBANG JAYA, Dec 9 — Local independent film-maker Ho Yuhang was given a budget of close to RM6 million to realise his action flick Mrs K, and he shows no signs of anxiety over the expectations that come with it.

After all, this is the biggest budget he had worked with so far.

“It’s not intimidating,” he said, brushing off the question on expectations during a behind-the -scenes sneak peek for the media.

“It is just that with bigger films and bigger projects, there is more work with more things to cover.”

Ho, who is more known for an arthouse approach to film-making, acknowledged that with the financing came the need for the film to be commercially appealing but believed it could be achieved by pushing the boundaries of the narrative often associated with the genre.

Mrs K, which Ho describes, without wanting to give too much away, is an action film about a woman with a dark past and enemies looking to hunt her down.

“It is about creating something different out of something that seems like a common story. The story is pretty dark, but there’s some humour in it. It also has quite a bit of violence. Here and there, some visual jokes,” he said.

“It’s a bit hard to explain but you will know it when you see it.”

Even though Ho is keeping his cards close to his chest right now, he has managed to win over acclaimed international actors to be casted for the movie, with them citing his script and track record as the main reasons for their agreeing to participate in Mrs K.

For one, you have Hong Kong action star Simon Yam who turned down a role in a French production to work on Mrs K with Ho.

Hong Kong actress Kara Hui plays the lead in ‘Mrs K’.

Playing the titular character is Hong Kong star Kara Hui Ying-hung, who is best known for her martial arts-heavy roles in Shaw Brothers Studio films in the 70s and 80s. She had also collaborated on Ho’s last feature length film released six years ago At the End of Daybreak.

“Yuhang has been sharing the script with me over the past four years since the first draft. This is currently the 15th version and I’m deeply attached to it,” she said when meeting with the press.

Also part of the cast is Taiwanese rock star Wu Bai, who has been selective in his acting roles especially after earning acclaim for his lead performance in 2000’s Hong Kong action film Time and Tide.

“I haven’t acted in a while, so this is very exciting. I have received many offers and have turned them down, but I have accepted this one because the script is new and fresh,” he said.

Award-wining Malaysian actor Faizal Hussein said he jumped at the opportunity to work with Ho, whose work he had always admired. And despite his character having only two scenes with dialogue in the entire film, he accepted it as a way to challenge himself as an actor.

“I miss this kind of working style. Most of the time when you’re involved with a film in Malaysia, it is not of this level. It has something that I look for when I decide on a role, something honest,” he said.

The film is co-produced by Ho’s production company Paperheart as well as Red Films.

Investing in the film are Hong Kong-based Emperor Motion Pictures and Malaysian government-backed Sonneratia Capital, which had only recently signed a partial slate financing agreement with Red Films.

Production is said to be nearing 40 per cent completion with only about two weeks’ worth of shooting left to complete before hitting the post-production stage.

The film is scheduled to be completed by the second half of 2016 and planned for a widespread simultaneous release in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the possibility of China.

Ho had recently won the inaugural FT/OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices award in New York for his short film Trespassed.

For more on Ho, check out our recent interview with him here.