Rana Daggubatti lent his voice for Thanos (inset) in the Telugu version of Avengers Infinity War; Amitabh Bachchan dubbed for The BFG and Varun Dhawan was the voice of the protagonist in Captain America: Civil War

Melissa D'Costa D'Silva (DNA; April 4, 2018)

Rana Daggubati — the antagonist Bhallaladeva in Baahubali — is the voice of Thanos in the Telugu version of the Avengers: Infinity War. Rana is one of the many actors who have dubbed for Hollywood characters for a regional audience. However, does a famous name guarantee box-office success? Why do studios continue to get popular actors to give voiceover to such films? These were some of the questions that we posed to industry experts. Here’s what they had to say.

TALENT V/S CONTENT
Critics of popular actors dubbing for regional versions of Hollywood flicks often have the misconception that talent and content are not on the same side. And, that’s not the case according to trade analyst Komal Nahta. He says, “When a studio approaches a popular actor to dub for a film, people are excited to see it because it has their favourite actor’s voice. At the same time, content is primary. If the film is bad, even if you get Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan to dub, it won’t work. The actor’s voice is like an embellishment that only enhances the content.”

TALENT HAS TO BE THE RIGHT FIT
Sources from studios echo Komal’s views. Vivek Krishnani, MD, Sony Pictures Entertainment, India, explains, “Getting Indian stars to dub for Hollywood films helps in building awareness and connect with audiences.” However, he adds that the decision of rendering a known star’s voice must be well-thought through and it should, along with their persona, suit the character.

He says, “Tiger Shroff, who dubbed for Spider-Man: Homecoming Hindi is a huge fan of Spider-Man and is one of the most popular youth icons in the country. His association worked really well for us in bringing the young audience.” The studio also had Rana dub for Inferno in Telugu and Ravi Kishan for the Bhojpuri version of Spider-Man 3, with similar success. “These associations create huge marketing buzz and PR around the film. But, it’s also important to get the script right as well — make a film more relevant with localised elements and humour, which regional audiences would enjoy,” Vivek explains.

MATCHING THE MANNERISMS
From an actor’s perspective, the voice has to match the mannerisms of the character. Actor Rajesh Khattar, who dubbed for Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Tony Stark (Avengers series), talks about how not having the right voice for a character can actually become a liability. He reasons, “Studios tend to approach popular actors because they want to grab eyeballs. When it comes to the south actors, this may work because they cater to a different kind of audience, and it might make a difference there. However, in the Hindi film space, having a famous name only works in specific cases.” He cites the example of Big B lending his voice to Steven Spielberg’s The Big Friendly Giant (BFG), which suited the character. “Getting a random star whose voice is not the right fit for the character but simply adds star value is avoidable as that can actually irk the audience,” Rajesh says.

Priyanka Chopra lent her voice for Kaa in Jungle Book; Shah Rukh Khan dubbed for Mr Incredible in The Incredibles; and Arjun Kapoor dubbed for Buck the Weasel in Ice Age: Collision Course.

ANIMATED FLICKS V/S LIVE ACTION MOVIES
While voicing for animated flicks is easier as it’s accepted readily, live-action movies can be a challenge for voiceover artistes and popular actors. Rajesh elaborates, “As voiceover artistes, we don’t transcribe; we translate. One has to communicate what the character is feeling, and introduce humour where needed with a regional flavour that the audience can relate to.” But there are times when things are not well-received by all. For instance, the reference to ‘infinity stones’ as ‘anant mani’ in the forthcoming Avengers flick’s Hindi trailer, which did not go down well with certain fans. Rajesh says, “The criticism has come from audiences who have seen the English trailer and are comparing it with the Hindi version. They are not really the target audience. The Hindi trailer is aimed at an audience that is eagerly awaiting this version as that’s the language they are more comfortable with.”

Then, there are fans of film franchises, who are obsessive about every minute detail associated with their favourite film franchise. So, getting a popular actor will not shield you from the brickbats. It will arouse curiosity and even set expectations. And while some assume that an actor’s fan base can bring in the audiences, there’s no way to actually measure whether the audience who came to watch a film did so because a particular star dubbed for it.

POPULAR STARS WHO HAVE DUBBED FOR HOLLYWOOD CHARACTERS

RANA DAGGUBATI
Thanos, Avengers Infinity War (Telugu, 2018)

ARSHAD WARSI
Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (2017)

TIGER SHROFF
Spider-Man, Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)

AMITABH BACHCHAN
The BFG (2016)

VARUN DHAWAN
Captain America, Captain America: Civil War (2016)

ARJUN KAPOOR
Buck the Weasel, Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

NANA PATEKAR, PRIYANKA CHOPRA, OM PURI, IRRFAN KHAN
Sher Khan, Kaa, Bagheera, Baloo respectively in Jungle Book (2016)

SONAKSHI SINHA AND IMRAN KHAN
Jewel and Blu, Rio 2 (2014)

VIVEK OBEROI
Electro, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

SHAH RUKH KHAN
Mr Incredible, The Incredibles (2004)

Arshad Warsi dubbed for Jack Sparrow in POC; Rajesh Khattar has dubbed for Iron Man in the Avengers series; and Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha voiced Blu and Jewel for Rio2.