‘I realised Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan don’t know how to act’: Malayalam actor Alencier Ley Lopez on Vettaiyan experience (original) (raw)
Alencier's comments on Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan ruffle feathers.
TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan marked the reunion of Indian cinema legends Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth after 33 years. Backed by Lyca Productions, Vettaiyan starred Rajinikanth as a trigger-happy cop, and Amitabh as a justice-friendly advocate pitted against each other in a film about encounter killings. In a crucial scene, they are indulged in a war of words about each other’s style of imparting justice, there is an actor in the scene watching this showdown happening in real time. It was Malayalam actor Alencier Ley Lopez, who played the role of a judge in the showdown scene between the lawyer and the cop. In a recent media interaction ahead of the release of his Malayalam film, Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, Alencier, without even being asked about Vettaiyan, decided to talk about it and said, “I realised Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan don’t know how to act.”
Talking about how he became part of the film, Alencier revealed that he didn’t even receive a single rupee as remuneration for the scene, which was shot in Mumbai over a day. “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 me, on either sides were Amitabh Bachchan sir and Rajinikanth sir,” said the Appan actor, who went on to share that he accepted the film and gave his dates only to see these veterans perform in front of the camera.
Taking a dig at Rajinikanth’s over-the-top action sequences in the 80s, Alencier said, “During my pre-degree days, I have seen Rajini sir stopping the whirring blades of a helicopter with his bare teeth. So, I wanted to see how he acts in front of the camera. During the Vettaiyan shoot, I saw him perform his stylised form of acting, his body language, and walking out of the courtroom. Then, Amitabh Bachchan would roar like a lion, and I have to act shocked after all this.” With a snide smile, he continued, “I realised I couldn’t compete with them because I didn’t know enough stylised acting nor do I have a deep baritone. All I can do is perform in films made by the likes of Dileesh Pothan, Sharan Venugopal and Rajeev Ravi. Also, I realised that they cannot act.”
However, Alencier was also candid enough to accept that such statements would be useful for headlines the following day, and it also meant curtains on a career in Tamil. “Honestly, I just used the opportunity to see how they performed, and not for establishing a career in Tamil,” said the actor. This isn’t the first time that the actor finds himself in the eye of controversy. In 2023, he was called out for his remarks about a statuette at an awards function, and a sexual misconduct allegation was levied against him by his co-actor from a 2017 film.