For years, the Kannada Film Industry (KFI) protested dubbing of movies made in other languages into Kannada. With the Unlock 1.0 phase kicking in, post-production work has resumed and artists are slowly returning to studios. For my debut, Ananthu vs Nusrath, I had to learn Hindi for some dialogues,” she says. “To match one’s voice to an actor’s and her expressions is challenging and fun. The character was so joyful.” Singer-turned-voice artist Sparsha RK is glad to be a part of the small but talented community. “I also enjoyed dubbing for Parvathy’s character in Milana. This is because I get so tired after the main sections that the crying bit comes out more naturally,” says Keerthi. I usually do the main parts first, keeping the crying bit for the end. “Her films have many sentimental dialogues and a lot of crying. Radhika Kumaraswamy is one of her favourite stars. Timing lines in such instances is a big challenge,” says Keerthi Anantharam. “Some actors mouth ABCD as they can’t pronounce all the words. There is so much emotion in that film,” says Deepa. In fact, she made her debut along with Ramya in Abhi. She delivered Ramya’s lines in a number of films. When I bump into them at events, I tell them and they happily acknowledge it,” says Deepa Bhaskar, who has dubbed for over 500 films.

“Often, actors don’t know who is dubbing for them. She has delivered lines in many of Prema’s films. Recently, fans celebrated Om’s 25 years and several fans learned through social-media conversations that Sunetra was the voice of lead actor Prema. “Until recently, many people didn’t know I was a dubbing artist,” says Sunetra, who is a popular face on television and in theatre circles. The role and importance of a dubbing artist in films are still not familiar to many. When she stepped into the studio to dub for cult Kannada movie Om (1995), she had little understanding of the art. It’s a welcome change as one needn’t speak artificiality,” says Sunetra. Many directors are ready to experiment and want actors to use their natural accent. “They were expected to be mellow and sweet, and speak softly in a particular ‘girlish’ tone. There was a period when actresses were advised not to speak in a heavy voice. This is because the actor may not know the language well or the director wants a particular tone. While lead actors prefer to dub for themselves, filmmakers often call in dubbing artists. The challenge for any dubbing artist is to analyse and master it,” says Sunetra Pandit, who has dubbed for over 600 films in a career spanning 25 years. “Every individual has a breathing pattern. It amplifies the effect of the actions and emotions being portrayed on the screen, and many popular actors have had their lines spoken by studio talent. Voice dubbing is a sophisticated task - Australian author Michael Gerard Bauer wrote that voice is a second face - and it involves getting various nuances of speech right.

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