After Vettaiyan, I knew Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan acting style and it’s not my cup of tea : Malayalam actor Alencier Ley Lopez
By
RUBY ZAIDI
Vinayakan and Alencier Ley Lopez are two Malayalam actors who don’t mince words while talking to the media. Both of them had worked with Superstar Rajinikanth in Jailer and Vettaiyan, respectively, albeit the latter’s work lasted just a day though it also gave him a chance to see Superstar of the Millennium, Amitabh Bachchan perform.
In a press meet ahead of Alencier’s Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, most questions directed to Joju George asked him about his takeaways from working in Tamil cinema. The veteran actor, hence, decided to speak about his own experience, pointing out that he got to share screen space with both Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan in Vettaiyan.
“I didn’t even get a rupee as remuneration,” said Alencier. “I was sent a flight ticket to Mumbai and they gave me accommodation at a five-star hotel. I just had to sit there as a judge for one shot and opposite to me, on either side were Amitabh Bachchan sir and Rajinikanth sir.”
The Maheshinte Prathikaaram actor said that he decided to take on the role in TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan, even if it was just for one shot, to see how two of the living legends in the country performed.
“During my pre-degree days, in a film, I have seen Rajini sir stopping a flying helicopter with his teeth. So, I wanted to see how he went about his acting,” Alencier said. “It was just a day’s shoot. He does his ststylizedorm of acting, where he performs with his body language and walks out of the courtroom, and then Amitabh Bachchan’s character roars like a lion. The judge sits there shocked after this.”
After their sequence, Alencier said that he realized that he “couldn’t compete with them”. “Neither do I know the kind of stylized acting nor do I have a booming voice. All I can do is act in films of Dileesh Pothan, Sharan Venugopal, and Rajeev Ravi. That’s when I got to know how these two actors act and that’s not my cup of tea,” he said. Vettaiyan also had Malayalam superstars Fahadh Faasil and Manju Warrier – whose talent too was massively underutilized in the movie, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Alencier, who was lauded for his performances in movies such as Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum and Appan, said that he was sure he might not get another role in Tamil industry again after his comments. “I am just being honest here. I went there just to see how they performed; not because I want to do a film in Tamil or become active there,” he said, later adding that he hopes he will get roles he deserves and doesn’t mind asking for the characters that he wants to play.
The actor’s latest film is Sharan’s Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, which has him sharing screen space with Joju George and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
