The 80s was a memorable decade for me and Cantopop ruled the airwaves. Although I was never a Cantopop fan, I heard Anita Mui’s songs on tv and admired her style. Her contralto voice was unique and she was one-of-a-kind. I wasn’t her fan but could appreciate the amount of hard work and dedication she put in to cultivate that kind of performance.
She looked like a strong woman who had a flamboyant stage presence along with show-stopping costumes and was truly the Madonna of the East. A few days ago, I watched 3 episodes of the ‘Anita’ biopic. It really brought back memories of that wonderful decade. Anita Mui made her mark on the Cantopop scene in that decade, winning the first New Talent Singing Awards. She’d made it through a difficult childhood where she and her older sister performed pop songs and Chinese opera to eke out a living.
In this biopic, we get to see how even as she gained fame and fortune, her love life was complicated. The actress who plays Anita, Louise Wong is almost her spitting image and I think her performance was pretty good. Whether we are Anita fans or not, I think we would all agree she passed away too young at the age of 40. If she was still alive today, she would be even more of a megastar than she was in those days. Anita is a legand and from what I’ve read about her, a caring and generous spirit who was loved by everyone.
