Tony Leung, Carina Lau play the kings of Desire with Wu Lei

Rising star Wu Lei (left), Hong Kong actress Carina Lau (center) and veteran actor Tony Leung Ka Fai (right) pose together at a promotional event for their film Asura in Beijing on Tuesday, January 16, 2018. In this film, they play the king of Desire with varying interpretations. [Photo: Provided to China Plus]

Hong Kong veteran actor Tony Leung Ka Fai and actress Carina Lau have recently come to Beijing doing a promotion for an expensive Chinese epic fantasy film, Asura. (阿修罗)

In this film, each portrayed the King of Desire, along with 18-year old Chinese mainland rising star Wu Lei.

Tony Leung describes the challenges in his portrayal.

"This is a real conundrum for me in my filming experiences. It's already difficult for me to play the King together with Carina Lau, not to mention Wu Lei's participation into us."

The word Asura means demigods in many Eastern countries. And in the film, it has three heads, which show three respective functions, namely desire, strategy and bravery.

Actress Carina Lau:

"This is an unprecedented experience over my over 30 years' experiences as an actress. The film would show me only in a helmet. I had to comply with how Tony Leung acts because in the film the King is made up of my head and his body."

The story focuses on desires and shows the ultimate meaning of life through the wars between humans and demons.

With a budget of 100 million US dollars, Asura features an international cast and a Hollywood production team. The release date for the film has not yet been announced.