CHENNAI: There are many reasons why a Tamil soap opera could become a huge hit — it is relevant, women-centric and has familiar faces. However, in the case of dubbed serials, it is the dialogues and their delivery that decide their success. Dubbing artistes are the voices behind the faces. They are responsible for making audiences connect to the characters, regardless of which language the serial is originally based in. Dubbed serials like Sindhu Bhairavi, Aval Oru Thodarkathai and Jhansi ki Rani have already become hits here in Tamil Nadu.
Marudha Bharani is the voice behind the serial, Sindhu Bhairavi (Uttaran in Hindi) that is telecast on Raj TV at 7pm on weekdays. “We only get the tapes of the serial’s original version. What we do is make a sound film. We have to watch the serial, understand it, write suitable Tamil dialogues for it, dub them, synchronise the voices with the visuals and then send it back,” he says. While Bharani has written the title song and dialogues for the promos of the serial, his wife, Uma, has translated the script and dialogues of Uttaran, apart from lending her voice to the character of Sindhu. Uma has also dubbed for many actresses, including Anushka in Arundhathi.
The voice of the hero Veer in Sindhu Bhairavi, belongs to Azam Sheriff. A BBM graduate, Sheriff’s dubbing debut happened five years ago, with the help of his friend. According to Sheriff, a perfect lip-sync plays an important role in the success of a dubbed serial. “We don’t just translate the original version. We choose appropriate Tamil words according to the lip movement of the characters. Even if people know that the serial is dubbed, we do our best to make it real,” he says. Sheriff has lent his voice for Bharath Reddy in Unnaipol Oruvan and for Ravikrishna in Payanam and Vaanam. He also dubs for Mayilsamy, Santhanam and Rajusundram when their Tamil movies are dubbed in Telugu. Sheriff dubs in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and even Hindi.
And then there are artistes who dub for more than one serial. K Mala dubs for the character of Thamarai (Sindhu’s mother) in Sindhu Bhairavi and Gomathi (Veerabathiran’s mother) in Anbalae Azhagana Veedu — the Tamil version of Behenien, aired on Vijay TV, at 5.30pm, weekdays. Mala also dubs for a character in Aval Oru Thodarkadhai (the Tamil version of Laagi Tujhse Lagan), which is aired on Polimer TV at 7pm on weekdays.
“Though we dub for these serials, we know the story only as much as the audience do. Because, we get the tapes just a week before its schedule,” says Mala. She has more than 20 years of dubbing experience and feels that the industry is now at its most progressive phase, thanks to the increase in the number of TV channels and dubbed serials. “Gone are the days when we used to work on a daily basis. Now, it’s based on hours,” she says. Does she get time to watch the serials she dubs? “Not always. But whenever I do, I don’t miss them,” she says.
The first movie that Mala dubbed for was Avargal. Interestingly, both Uma and Mala have dubbed for the popular serial Shanti, which aired on Doordharshan in 1994. While Uma dubbed for Mandira Bedi, the lead character, Mala dubbed for Sundari, the villain. Now Mala has two sons who are in the dubbing industry too. Another dialogue writer-cum-dubbing artiste is Srinivasa Moorthy, who dubs for the male lead in Aval Oru Thodarkadhai. Srinivasa keeps busy with commercials and movies too. He last dubbed for the movies, Siruthai and Uthamaputhiran. He feels that the quality of dubbing has deteriorated of late, owing to the increased demand for artistes.
Priya, who used to dub for Sujatha in Aval Oru Thodarkadhai, has taken a break, due to personal reasons. She has been a part of many projects like Amman, Sri Krishna and Roja Kootam, and worked with a number of production houses too. She started dubbing at a young age and even tried her hand at modelling. “I soon realised that it was not what I wanted to do and came back to dubbing,” she says.
This industry sure looks promising enough, more so with competition not being a major concern.