Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan reunited in Vettaiyan after 33 years, directed by TJ Gnanavel. Actor Alencier Ley Lopez controversially claimed they “don’t know how to act.”
Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth starred in Vettaiyan.
When Vettaiyan was announced, fans were thrilled to see two cinema greats — Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan — reuniting on-screen after 33 years. Directed by TJ Gnanavel and produced by Lyca Productions, the film had Rajinikanth playing a gun-slinging cop and Amitabh stepping into the role of a justice-driven lawyer. Their intense face-off in a courtroom scene was one of the film’s highlights. But while audiences were in awe, one person who witnessed it up close had a different take — Malayalam actor Alencier Ley Lopez, who played a judge in the scene, didn’t seem too impressed.
During a media interaction, Alencier spoke about his experience working on Vettaiyan. Taking everyone by surprise, he said, “I realised Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan don’t know how to act.”
Revealing how he became part of the film, Alencier shared that he wasn’t paid a single rupee for the role but was flown to Mumbai and given five-star accommodation. “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,” he recalled. But for him, the real incentive wasn’t the stay — it was the chance to see these screen legends perform in person.
Taking a playful dig at Rajinikanth’s over-the-top action stunts from the past, he joked, “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.”
Then came his most brutal observation. He added, “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.”
Alencier was aware of the storm his comments would create, even admitting that they would make headlines and could close doors for him in Tamil cinema. “Honestly, I just used the opportunity to see how they performed, and not for establishing a career in Tamil,” he confessed.
