Abbas Alizada, who stars in the action-adventure film Bloodlineis nicknamed the ‘Bruce Lee of Afghanistan’ for his striking resemblance to the martial arts legend and actor from Hong Kong. Abbas humbly puts the moniker down to people’s love for Bruce Lee extending over to him due to the facial resemblance. Talking about his idol, Abbas says, “People call me that nickname because I look like Bruce Lee. He is my hero from childhood; he is always in my mind and heart because he influenced me a lot.” Speaking about Bruce Lee’s influence on him, Abbas adds, “The first time I saw him in films was when I was eight years old, and that piqued my interest in martial arts. I went to a martial arts training centre, but eventually I had to train by myself due to my financial situation. Back then, I learnt how to use nunchaku just by watching Bruce Lee films.”
Nunchaku is a difficult martial art weapon to master, and it was no different even for Abbas before Bruce Lee films came as help for him. “It is difficult to learn. If you do not know how to use the nunchaku, you will hurt yourself. I am speaking from my own experience. I hit my head accidentally with it and hurt myself very badly the first time I was learning it on my own. I did not want that to happen again, which was why I decided to watch Bruce Lee’s films and learn it in a more professional manner.”
All these experiences helped Abbas when he had to learn the ropes of the martial art form kalaripayattu for Bloodlinean action-adventure film set in South India. In the film, Abbas’s character learns kalari from Adharva (Jojo George), who is described as a master of the art form. Abbas came to know about kalari for the first time while working on the film, and he admits that it is a difficult art to learn for first-timers. He shares, “My martial art skill is quite important for the film. At the same time, I have done kalari for the film. It is generally difficult to learn, but my skills in martial arts helped me learn it. If you know martial arts, you can learn any martial art style rather easily.”
While it is great for someone like Abbas to be able to carry forward the legacy of Bruce Lee in his own way, there is also a flip side to it. Abbas knows that there are positives and negatives to being associated with such a legendary figure by name itself. “The positive side is that millions of people love Bruce Lee. And when they see my videos and films, I remind them of him. I feel proud when people call me Bruce Lee impersonator or even the Afghan Bruce Lee. However, the negative side is that people also tell me you cannot be Bruce Lee. That is also true, and I am willing to accept that I cannot be him,” says the actor while reminding us, “No one can be Abbas Alizada, either.”
Interestingly, Bloodline is also the first film where Abbas is named Lee. The character helps Adrianna Edwards’ cop in her search for her missing sister in Kerala. Adrianna is also credited as the writer of the film. When asked about how she managed to write such a film set in Kerala that discusses Indian mythology, Adrianna says, “Most of the ideas were Jojo’s, including the ones concerning mythology. I helped make the screenplay more suitable for a Western audience. I added more depth to the storyline and the relationship between the characters.”
Bloodline will release in Malayalam, Hindi, and Tamil through the Indywood Distribution Network on January 24 before English, making it a rare female-led film with a non-Indian cast to release first in the regional languages. Addressing why more such films are not made worldwide, writer-actor Adrianna reveals, “In many industries, women are still climbing their way up. In cinema, too, they are still finding films with the leads. Martial arts films have more men than women. I know that women also practice kalari, but the martial arts genre is mostly male-dominated.”
Many portions of the film were shot in the jungles of Kerala, which could pave the way for certain wild encounters. But for Adrianna, the wildest encounter they had was with “giant spiders and mosquitos.” Speaking about her experience working in the forest, she says, “Shooting in the jungle with the waterfall was a beautiful experience. But the mosquitos and the spiders were something else.” Abbas quips, “I guess you forgot one thing, Adrianna: rain. It rains there all the time.”
Abbas has been to multiple parts of the world, including Pakistan and India, but he visited Kerala for the first time for Bloodline. He fondly remembers the warm hospitality and kindness of people in South India. “They have excellent behaviour and attitude,” says Abbas.
He still harbours his long-time dream of visiting Hong Kong to take a picture with the statue of his idol. “I have been trying to go there for a long time now, but I could not because of the political situation in Afghanistan. I am planning to visit it as soon as possible to see the Bruce Lee statue.”
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