Law Kar-ying and Paw Hee-ching Lead Sri Kishore's 'The Grand Tribute'

Sri Kishore has locked his supporting cast for "The Grand Tribute," adding Sham Kaki, QBobo, Virginia Lau, Ahstisham Ahmad and Jayan Yvette C. Marquez alongside Hong Kong veterans Law Kar-ying and Paw Hee-ching. The shoot is already underway, with the entire film being shot on location in Hong Kong.

The story follows a Cantonese opera performer in his 70s staging one final show as a farewell gesture of love for his terminally ill wife. Law Kar-ying, an accomplished Cantonese opera performer in real life, stars opposite Paw Hee-ching, whose casting anchors the film's central relationship in lived experience of the art form.

Who joins the ensemble?

Five names round out the supporting cast:

• Sham Kaki, who previously worked with Sri Kishore on "My Indian Boyfriend" and has built a career on a run of well-received performances.
• QBobo, also returning from "My Indian Boyfriend," credited as the first local Indian actor to establish a lasting career in the industry.
• Virginia Lau, born in Hong Kong, bringing a local presence to the ensemble.
• Ahstisham Ahmad and Jayan Yvette C. Marquez, completing the new additions.

What happens behind the camera?

Cinematographer Kunj Gutka and music director Shravan Bharadwaj both return from "My Indian Boyfriend." Vamsi Raavi has joined the production as editor. Eric Low has come on board to lead the local production unit, with the unit based in Hong Kong for the length of the shoot.

The project is described as a Chinese opera drama, with Bharadwaj composing Indian-style music numbers for the score — a pairing of the two traditions within a single production that mirrors the director's own cross-cultural filmmaking history.

Sri Kishore Film Productions Limited produces, with Sri Kishore and Dai Ming Tsui as producers and Nasrul Ekram serving as line producer.

Where was the news announced?

The announcement came on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market, placing the Hong Kong-shot production in front of the Asian industry's key buyers and financiers as production continues.

With shooting underway across Hong Kong and a cast that bridges the city's Cantonese opera tradition and its Indian diaspora performers, "The Grand Tribute" positions itself as a rare fusion of Chinese operatic drama and Indian musical idioms — a combination whose reception will test the appetite for cross-tradition storytelling at Asian markets.