One day, when Alencier Ley Lopez was acting in Kammatipaadam (2016), production controller Alex called him up and said that there was a role for him in Kasaba, which starred superstar Mammooty. But Alencier felt nervous. He had never met or acted with Mammooty. “I had heard that he was a tough person,” says Alancier. “So I told Alex that I was hesitant to act with the star.”
That was when Alex gave him a surprise. “He told me that it was Mammooty who insisted that I should act in Kasaba,” says Alencier. “So, I felt encouraged.” When Alencier was leaving for Kolar, Karnataka, for the shoot, he told Dulquer, the superstar’s son, who was also acting in Kammatipaadam, about his new role.
Dulquer said, “My father and I had seen Maheshinte Prathikaaram together, at our home. At that time, my father said, ‘Alencier is good. We must take him for our films’.”
When Alencier arrived on the set, he saw that there was a large crowd present, all waiting to get a glimpse of the superstar. Alex offered to take Alencier inside the trailer. But he said he would meet Mammooty on the set.
When Mammooty entered the set, he immediately spotted Alencier. He came forward, shook his hand, and said, “My name is Mammooty.”
Alencier burst out laughing because there was no need for Mammooty to introduce himself. “Nevertheless, because of what he said, I became relaxed immediately,” says Alencier. “Mammooty made me feel comfortable. And I had a very nice time on the sets.”
But Alencier could not resist talking to the media about this incident. Soon, everybody in the industry came to know about it.
Meanwhile, Alencier got a chance to act with another superstar Mohanlal in an upcoming film, Munthiri Vallikal thalirkkumbol. On the sets, at Kozhikode, in August, he was taken by scriptwriter Sindhu Raj to a house where Mohanlal was resting.
As soon as Alencier was introduced, the superstar could not resist saying, “My name is Mohanlal.”
Alencier again burst into laughter, and said, tongue-in-cheek, “I think there is no need to tell my name. You must be knowing it.” The superstar grinned and nodded.
Alencier had a chance to laugh again when, in late, 2014, he got a call. A man said, “I am Fahadh Faasil. Do you have a passport?”
Alencier replied in the affirmative. “Good,” the man said. “We will be going to America for a couple of months. You have a role in Monsoon Mangoes.” But when the conversation ended, Alencier began to have doubts. ‘Was it really Fahadh or an imposter who called me?’ he thought. So he called back on the same number and said, “Who is this? Don’t play the fool with me.”
Fahaad said, “Chetta, it is really me. Abi Varghese is the director.”
In Louisiana, where the shoot took place, several Indian-Americans, from other states, would come and stay at an apartment, where Alencier also lived. They would play their small parts and go away. One evening, an elderly man arrived. He immediately began reading the Bible. “He did not speak much,” says Alencier.
The next morning, he left at 5 a.m. for the set. Following his segment, he immediately left for the airport. Later, when Alencier went to the location, he was told that the old man died of a heart attack inside the plane.
“A man came to act in a film for the first time, stayed with strangers, acted with strangers, went into the cinema world briefly, before he died,” says Alencier. “What was the meaning of this? Strange are the ways of God.”