As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 20, 2017)

My first job was when I was around 16 years old after I had returned to Mumbai from a boarding school in Ajmer. It combined my love for cinema and a means to earn some extra pocket money. I started off with Leela Ghosh who trained me as a voice artiste and I started dubbing for the Hindi version of English films like The Rock and even animation films like Babe and Disney Hour. I also lent my voice to TV shows like The Young And The Restless, Santa Babara and Small Wonder, among many more. I even dubbed for the popular Hindi TV show, Surabhi in English.

I enjoyed myself and soon became a successful voice artiste, frequenting studios more than college. I was earning Rs 40-50,000 a month, which was big money in those days. It was the kind of salary an MBA graduate would draw in a mid-level position. I went on to do radio plays with another legend, Rupa Sangle. Her training led to many advertisements, jingles and radio spots.

Eventually, it made way to compering live shows and soon I became the first choice as host for various college events. Siddharth Kannan, who is one of the most popular comperes in India today, started out around the same time. He was my junior in college.

It was an amazing time. I had just started junior college and would get Rs 500 as pocket money from my father (veteran actor Suresh Oberoi). But suddenly, in a years' time, I was raking in Rs 50, 000 a month.

The biggest challenge was animation films which required voice modulation. Sometimes, I would be called to do five-six characters in one show or film. I enjoyed changing my voice for each character, it was a great formal training for films. I adapted my voice for my debut film, Company, in which I played Chandrakant aka Chandu Nagre.

Leela Ghosh is no more but she remains my guru. In fact, not too long ago, I was asked to dub for the Hindi version of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for the character of the villian Electro played by Jamie Foxx. It was like life coming a full circle because Mona Ghosh, Leelaji's daughter, was the dubbing director on the film. After the film released, Jamie Foxx sent me a personalised Electro idol with a note which read, "To my Indian Electro brother." I'm a big fan of his work so it meant a lot.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 brought back memories of the first film I had dubbed for as a voice artiste, Shyam Benegal's The Making Of The Mahatma. I had gone to meet Leelaji for the first time and she wanted me to start with crowd-dubbing. Crowd dubbing is when five-ten people stand in the studio and shout together. It's the background sound, also known as 'janta voices'. I was persistent and kept going back to her because I wanted to learn more. Fortunately, Leela ji took a liking to me.