[2024.12.13] EKIN CHENG AND IAN CHAN: DIFFERENT ERAS, DIFFERENT VALUES

Ian Chan reveals to be an Ekin Cheng fan and has learned a lot from his idol

Ekin and Ian chat and laugh, without any generation gap

Fans look forward to Ekin's return to film after 2 years

Ian waves to the fans
courtesy of on.cc

courtesy of singtao.com

26 years apart in age, the two generations of male gods Dior Cheng Yee Kin (Ekin) and Ian Chan Cheuk Yin have very drastically different values. The "Hidden King of Properties" Ekin currently owned 4 domestic properties and his net worth was already in hundreds of millions long ago. Although Ian regards Ekin his idol, he has no intention of emulating his method of preserving his value. He feels that he is already very satisfied with having money to take his family out to eat. No wonder Ekin could not help but say, "It's really not the same era, this generation's thinking is very alternative."

The 57-year-old Ekin Cheng made the film LAST SONG FOR YOU (GAU BIT CHUNG FUNG) after a two-year absence, which gave him the opportunity to meet Ian, who has been regarded as a new generation of male gods. Because Ian played his younger version, they would live in different spaces in the film; but they still had a scene in which they "meet". "We are one in the early stage, and the other the late stage. The most memorable on the beach, when the two different stages meet. That scene is pretty sentimental." Speaking of being two generations of male gods, Ekin felt that Ian was "not just a simple male god". "Being an artist now is not just a shell, but there must be a real thing, like music, musical instruments, music theory, etc. unlike our era before. The tough part is being so busy that you feel lost. At that time I was working on the movie and sing. There were voices that said I sang like this (poorly). The problem was not having enough me to go around. When there wasn't enough time, I didn't perform all that well."

Receiving high praise from Ekin, Ian considered himself a fan. "Of course I have seen his LEGEND OF SPEED (GIK CHOOK CHUEN SUET). (Did you feel any pressure from working with your idol?) No." Yet he admitted that he has benefited a lot from Ekin, especially insisting on being himself. He said, "I think the general public has a lot of comments, but actually everyone is on their own path. I think this world is about accepting to be yourself, we have to accept people to be them, and we have to deal with things with a different mentality; or how to deal with our own growth, and finally we have to be pure and be what we want to be."

Ekin has always been known as the hidden king of properties, with 4 properties in Hong Kong alone and not counting the properties held overseas. His net worth has already exceeded 100 million. Would Ian see buying a property as his goal? He bluntly said that he was not envious at all, but was very satisfied with the status quo. "If I have money, I will take Mommy out to eat. My job is to take care of the people around me, so as long as they can be happy and healthy I am fine." When Ekin heard this, he could not help but say, "It's true that different eras don't have the same ideas, they don't necessarily regard buying a property as an asset. They have another value." Referring to his net worth of hundreds of millions, Ekin groaned: "Is it that much? The property marketfell, how much is left? They all came from hard work."

The age difference between them was 26 years, did Ekin think he was old? He generously expressed his acceptance that he would no longer be young. "Aging is gradual, it's normal for people to get old. When I used to see elders and I would feel that I would be like them one day, and there was no problem after adjusting my mentality. (Do you feel like you are younger from working with young people?) No, I am not young myself." He admitted that he was the eldest of the cast members, but he was also happy to work with the younger generation. He also paid attention to Ian's concerts and songs, and gave comments. "I have listened to his songs, and the latest release SCULP. (The style) has changed a little, I feel that he is challenging himself, and his previous songs fit his image well."

In addition, Ian went to the radio station yesterday to promote the new song, attracting nearly 100 Hellosss (fan nickname) to wait outside the station in the morning. When he arrived, he approached the fans, waved and greeted them in a friendly manner. Releasing songs in the form of a story this year, Ian just launched a new song INTERLUDE, which was the 5th work in the story series and the final chapter of the whole story. He said that originally he came up with many grand scenes to be placed in the new song music video, but due to budget issues he could only give them up. A fan suggested an exhibition, which he said that he could seriously consider; but he might not have time for an autograph session and performance.