A poster of the new film features E Jingwen, who portrays an aspiring actress who leaves a small town to pursue her dreams. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The film resembles a Charlie Chaplin-style comedy, which triggers both tears and laughter. It's viewed as a semi-autobiographical account of Chow's life.

Now considered an iconic filmmaker, who is best known for his blockbusters, Chow had struggled with walk-on or cameo roles in the first six years of his film career before he earned recognition for the 1988 crime thriller, Final Justice, which won him a best supporting actor award at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards.

The remake of Chow's 1999 classic King of Comedy will be released on Feb 5, the first day of Lunar New Year.

Aside from E, the cast includes A-list comedian Wang Baoqiang, who plays a former superstar, who's reluctant to face a failing career, and lesser-known actors, such as Zhang Quandan, Jing Rupeng and Huang Xiaoyang.

"I began to think about remaking the film some eight years ago. But it was three years ago when I officially started to write the script," says Chow at a promotional event for the film in Beijing.

But when the film released its first trailer earlier this month, it sparked online controversy as many netizens complained that some funny sequences appeared similar to his 1999 film.

Chow says the forthcoming film will be a "different and fresh story", which reflects both his struggle and success in showbiz over the past two decades.