New Delhi: Indian films are making a global impact, and now even Spanish actor Enrique Arce of Money Heist fame wants to watch them.
Arce, who played the standout character of Arturo Roman in five seasons of the Netflix hit Money Heist, was speaking at the capital’s first International Film Festival at the Bharat Mandapam on Thursday.
“I want to experience Indian movies beyond Bollywood,” Arce said in a conversation with senior journalist Mayank Shekhar. “I think we can now experience other cultures without necessarily needing to visit them, and movies help to do so.”
Arce also mentioned how India has always been on his bucket list, and the festival invite came at an opportune moment to finally fly down to Delhi.
“All everyone could talk about when I reached here was Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), and it shows the Tomatina festival which is held where I am from. I watched the trailer, and now I want to watch the movie,” said Arce, to loud cheers from the audience. The Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol starrer was shot in Spain, and also made it a popular tourist destination for Indians after its box office success.
During the conversation, Shekhar also gave the example of Sholay and asked what would be a similar film in Spanish. Arce’s recommendation was Torrente, the Dumb Arm of the Law, a 1998 Spanish dark comedy film written and directed by Santiago Segura.
‘Wanted a different role in Money Heist’
Money Heist, which premiered on Netflix in 2019, became a streaming hit globally, including in India. Originally planned as a one-off limited series, Money Heist is a Spanish crime drama that follows two daring heists led by the protagonist called the Professor (Álvaro Morte). The two heists, on Spain’s Royal Mint and national bank, eventually turn out to be part of a bigger plan that challenges capitalism.
Arce’s character of the manipulative, conniving Roman became extremely popular. But surprisingly, the 53-year-old actor was initially not keen on being a part of the show. He wanted a different part—the role of Cesar Gandia, the bodyguard of the Mint, but was offered Roman after his audition.
He was also unhappy with the compensation provided by the makers of Money Heist.
“I was supposed to be dead by the end of the fifth episode of the first season. But during the shoot, both the director and producer liked my acting and offered to change how the role was written and offered more seasons,” said Arce.
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‘Neymar, Mbappe promoted Money Heist’
Money Heist or La Casa De Papel, in Spanish, was originally aired on the Spanish TV channel Antena 3 from May to November 2017. But it tanked on TV and was on the verge of being cancelled. Arce, along with other cast members were at Basque country when reporters asked him about the show’s future.
“I told them that if Spain was not ready for the show, maybe the world is, and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Arce. The show was then acquired by Netflix, and its first season was recut from 15 episodes to 22 shorter episodes. After the first season proved to be a runaway success, Netflix drastically increased its budget and announced a second season, and finally, five seasons were made.
One reason for its global popularity was also linked to football. Brazilian footballer Neymar and the French forward Kylian Mbappe recommended the show on their social media, and soon, everyone started watching it, said Arce.
“Neymar and Mbappe have millions of followers, and when they called it the best show they had ever watched, it created the domino effect along with Netflix acquiring it to make people watch,” said Arce.
The session ended with Arce singing Bella Ciao, the Italian anti-fascist folk song that became a global phenomenon due to the show.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)