American-born actor Alexx O’Nell has been working in Hindi films since 2007 and has been a part of many memorable films and series. He has even worked with the most talented production houses and actors. Recently, he was seen in the Sara Ali Khan-starrer Ae Watan Mere Watan as the antagonist John Lyre. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Alexx O’Nell talked about the response to his performance in Ae Watan Mere Watan, his past works, his stint as a singer and a lot more.

EXCLUSIVE: Alexx O’Nell defends Sara Ali Khan’s performance in Ae Watan Mere Watan: “She has done justice to the character; hasn’t overacted. Those calling her performance ‘horrible’ has lots to do with the nepotism debate that never ends”

What kind of feedback have you got for Ae Watan Mere Watan?
The feedback, when it comes to my performance, has been positive. One reviewer compared me to Tom Alter, which is the greatest compliment that I could imagine. I couldn’t be happier with the response.

When it comes to a historical subject, a lot of people would say ‘It should have been more accurate’ and on the other hand, a lot of people would say ‘It needs to be more dramatic’. So, you’re never going to satisfy everyone. Hence, I expected from the start that it would have mixed reviews.

And I feel critics have been unfairly harsh to Sara Ali Khan. I saw the film first with Sara, director Kannan Iyer, producer Karan Johar and the rest of the team. Then I also watched it the next day with my friends. Some of them were not familiar with Sara’s work or who she was. When I compare their reaction to the reviews that she got, it’s a world of difference. In this era, I don’t know whether or not it’s fair but people expect a lot from these glamorous star kids. Maybe that’s because people feel that they get opportunities more easily than the other actors. So, the star kids need to give far better performances than the other actors. I don’t know whether that’s fair. But if you look only at the performance of Sara and don’t think who she is or her off-screen persona or her previous films, you’ll think that her performance is fine. I mean, it’s not Oscar winning but it doesn’t detract from the story at all. She has done justice to the character. Neither has she overacted. Hence, those calling her performance ‘horrible’, I think it has lots to do with the nepotism debate that never ends.

Alia Bhatt is a phenomenal actress and hence, everyone is praising her. But if she wasn’t phenomenal, she would have also faced a lot of flak. This is because we expect actors to do their job. But with star kids, which Sara is, they expect her to be brilliant; or else, they’ll bash her. I don’t agree with this.

In an interview, you mentioned that Sara Ali Khan quietly told you to slap her in an important scene. You were scared but you did it anyway. How did the director Kannan Iyer react to it since the slap wasn’t a part of the script?
(Laughs) So, she quietly told me to slap her. The way I did it, I barely made contact with her. Hence, I don’t think Kannan even knew that I had actually (slapped her). He was like, ‘Cut, shot seems okay, let’s move on’. And I was like, ‘We got away with that’!

But I was terrified. It’s not everyday that a beautiful girl comes up to you and says ‘I really want you to slap me’ for a scene in the film! If you mess it up, then you are going to be responsible for bruising the face of the lead actress of a film that we still have to keep shooting.

Also, I had to put my foot on her head or when she was in the bucket of ice or a strangulation hole; a lot of insensitive stuff happens between Joyn Lyre and Usha Mehta. None of it was comfortable for either one of us. I would rather be the one to be tortured by Sara than do the torturing!

A lot of foreign actors complain that they don’t get substantial roles in Bollywood movies. You, on the other hand, have been playing great parts. Your thoughts?
My journey has been different from any Indian actor or any actor in Hollywood. I started my career in Bollywood with Cheeni Kum (2007). I was in India doing modelling and ads and before that, I was on stage in the USA. That’s where I learned to act. I did theatre for 10 years until I was travelling to India and got opportunities here. Some years later, I did ‘Nach Baliye’ with my girlfriend at that time (Sweta Keswani). That was an incredible experience to be able to do the different dance forms. It was broadcasted Pan-India. People discovered me through that show.

Also, my career has been through recommendations. For Khufiya (2023), the casting director was Gautam Kishanchandani who also finalized the casting in Ae Watan Mere Watan. Our DOP was Amalendu Chaudhary and I worked with him twice before, on Roohi (2021) and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 (2018). I am incredibly thankful for the recommendations as it means that I am doing something right. Hence, they want to work with me again or they want others to work with me.

Bollywood is the largest producer of films in the world. So, technically, by numbers, actors here get the most opportunities than any other actor in the universe. There are certain actors who are favourites of some production houses. But every once in a while, a Ram Madhavani would require an Alex O’Nell. That is my challenge, to be the best I can and to impress the teams of the film enough that they would recommend me for key projects.

The other challenge is the language. Right now, I am shooting for a Bengali film, Devi Chowdhurani, and I am going crazy getting the Bengali dialogues right. My character is fluent in Bengali as he grew up in Kolkata. John Lyre, meanwhile, is fluent in Hindi. My character in my upcoming show Bak Bak speaks only Hindi. He doesn’t speak a word in English!

In the monsoon, a lot of shooting doesn’t happen. That’s when I shifted my focus to music. I record, shoot the video and plan my music videos in South Africa and Europe, where my focus has been in the past couple of years. I also indulge in paragliding, scuba diving, motorcycling etc. In short, it is difficult as it’s not a profession where you’ll always have work.

How was your experience of working on your debut film, Cheeni Kum?
‘Kheema Bhare Salan Murg Ka Pulav’ – I’ll never forget that one dish that I could not promote when I come face to face with Amitabh ji! It was like a masterclass for me in Bollywood filmmaking while working on that film. The film was directed by one of the best directors in the world – R Balki. I met Tabu for the first time on Cheeni Kum sets and later we worked on Urumi (2011) and Khufiya. It was a perfect film for me. I was familiar with Amitabh Bachchan but he is not someone I grew up with in my mind as the personification of cinema. So, I met him as a very accomplished co-actor that I respected and looked upto. But I didn’t have the same regards for him that I would have had if I met Al Pacino, Brad Pitt etc. So, I got to learn a lot from Mr Amitabh Bachchan, without getting starstruck or weak in the knees. That experience proved helpful for me.

I remember very distinctly. There’s a scene where he and I lean over the counter, looking at each other. His close-ups were being shot over my shoulder. Once that’s done, we flip around and my close ups get shot. Yet, he gave me my cues even though he was not in the frame and he could have had an assistant director do the needful. He didn’t have to. He’s a legend. He can take it easy but he doesn’t. He was always on time, he always had his lines sorted.

This level of professionalism inspired me and it showed me that it exists in Bollywood. It’s something that I have imbibed when I work with juniors on the sets. I stand for the cues. I try to facilitate the best performance of my co-actor.

Talking about your songs, you recorded a Sanskrit song, on the lines of the song in Aarya…
In Aarya, I play a musician who sings in Sanskrit. I had memorized the shloka (shows it to this writer) from the Bhagavad Gita. They were in my head and I realized that I needed to make something with it. This is when I wrote my own version of the Bhagavad Gita song. The version that appears in the series, I did not write it. The one that I wrote and performed, I released it on my own in Sanskrit. It’s my only non-English song. I have never had a song of mine featured in a film or series. Not yet!

Your recent song ‘Pride’ has been well-received. Its concept is quite cool, especially the way you get stuck in the elevator…
I got the concept as I actually got stuck in an elevator. I was on my way to the recording studio with my guitar. In India, we take for granted that the electricity always works. In South Africa, it often gets cut. I was stuck in a dark elevator for an hour and a half. Everyone in Cape Town would relate to the concept as everyone has got stuck in a lift for sure!

My musical journey began in India during the pandemic when I released ‘Still On My Mind’ whose video features Shama Sikander. This was followed by ‘Twenty Days’ and the Bhagavad Gita song. All these years, I used to say that I’d release my songs when I had the time. During the pandemic, shoots came to a standstill. I got the time and hence, I took the plunge. It was a lot of hard work but I got it done. A few years later, I realized that the songs are doing well on streaming platforms but it’s not played on radio. I reached out to radio stations. They declined to play my tracks, citing that they only play Hindi songs or songs with music labels.

Hence, I relocated my music career to South Africa, a territory where music and films are not no strongly connected. I am glad I did it because ‘These Four Walls’ and ‘Pride’ are played every single day in South Africa. And it feels so good when you are driving your car and your song is aired on the radio.

It’s also exciting that people who watch my films also discover my music. So many of them commented about it under my songs that they liked me in Urumi, Cheeni Kum, etc.

Are you playing the role of General Dyer in Akshay Kumar-starrer Shankara?
I am not. I can’t talk about the film except that I am shooting it. I am very excited that Akshay Kumar and I are working together after Joker (2012). We laughed about that. Hopefully, this one will do better than Joker. A lot of people tell me that they have liked Joker. Of course, it didn’t make any sense but it was a kind of a fantasy journey with a dash of craziness. A lot of friends’ kids love Joker.

Shankara is also exciting as it’s my first project with Dharma. But we have quite a lot to shoot. Don’t expect it to be released any time soon.

What are your other projects?
I am shooting with Mohanlal on Lucifer 2 Empuraan. My character’s screen time increases as the story moves on. Hence, in the first part 1, I was just there in one scene; in the sequel, I have a bunch of scenes while in the third part, my role would be even more. Prithviraj is wonderful; he and I have known each other for many years. There’s also Bak Bak. It has Divya Dutta in a never-before-seen avatar. Phule with Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa has shaped up beautifully. I also have two Bengali films in my kitty – Devi Chowdhurani and Pokkhirajer Dim.

Having said that, I have still not moved on from Ae Watan Mere Watan. I am still checking the reviews everyday. Yesterday, I was shooting with Prosenjit. This is our second film together after Yeti Obhijaan (2017), which was my debut in Bengali. He came and told me that he loved the second half of Ae Watan Mere Watan. A lot of the crew had also seen and appreciated the film. I am glad people are taking the time to see the film and not letting reviews affect their decision. Sometimes, reviews can destroy a film but with Ae Watan Mere Watan, the reviews haven’t hurt the film in any way.

Also Read: From streets to colleges, Sara Ali Khan takes unique approach to promote Ae Watan Mere Watan, watch

More Pages: Ae Watan Mere Watan Box Office Collection , Ae Watan Mere Watan Movie Review

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