Love in Disguise

Du Ming-Han grew up famous, raised in the glare of pop stardom but missing something real in his life: a relationship. Tired of rehearsed encounters, he and his musician friend Wei Zhi-Bai decide to disguise Du as an ordinary man to see who will like him for himself. While keeping his celebrity identity hidden, Du chances upon a guzheng performance by Song Xiaoqing, a conservatory student obsessed with a virtuoso, Mu Fan. Du offers to help Song win Mu Fan's attention, using the pretense to spend time near her. As music draws them closer, deceptions make it harder for Du to stay incognito, and feelings deepen in ways he didn't expect. He must decide what life he wants, and why.

Released in 2010, Love in Disguise was created by Leehom Wang, Hung-chieh Chen, and Xin Yi Du, and features Leehom Wang opposite Liu Yifei. The production blends pop and traditional Chinese music, targeting Mandarin-speaking viewers across Asia and music fans.

At release the film had a modest showing, attracting fans of the leads and of its soundtrack more than global audiences. It performed best in Chinese-speaking markets, supported by Leehom Wang's star profile, though it didn't become a runaway hit.

Critical response was mixed, reflected in a modest user rating of 5.538/10 from 26 votes, with praise for the music and lead chemistry and criticism for some predictable plot elements. The film focuses on fame versus normalcy, the role of performance in relationships, and the pull of artistic collaboration themes.

Though not a worldwide phenomenon, Love in Disguise helped spotlight guzheng and classical instruments within pop cinema and reinforced Leehom Wang's multi-hyphenate image as singer-actor-songwriter, boosting interest in its soundtrack. Scenes of the conservatory performance and the music-driven romance remain familiar to fans of Mandarin pop culture across Asia today.