Ambooty is soaked in devotional fervour these days, courtesy the devotional serials. But, he complaints little, since dubbing is his passion. And with a state award in his kitty.
Those among you who are hooked on to the devotional serials aired by various Malayalam channels might have come across his name, umpteen times. He is the voice of many characters in serials like Sree Guruvayoorappan and Velankanni Matha (Surya TV) and Devi Mahatmyam and Sri Mahabhagavatham (Asianet). In one of them he has dubbed for nearly 10 characters.
Coming back to the award, Ambooty bagged this year’s state television award for best narration- for the documentary Jalam Kondu Murivettaval (based on poet Kanchana), telecast by Jai Hind channel.
The recognition means much for this 42-year-old artist who took his first steps into dubbing when Doordarshan Malayalam had its birth. ‘‘I acted and dubbed for my character in the serial Mandan Kunju. I had played Kunju’s friend Ayyappan,’’ says Ambooty (His original name is Anil Kumar and Ambu is his pet name, which later got changed to Ambooty).
A drama artist for some 11 years (he, along with his friends, used to run a theatre group- Raghuvamsham- and he even directed a play Eshwaran Sakshi for Kollam Medha theatre), Ambooty took up dubbing when he realised it was more challenging than acting. ‘‘I was crazy about it from the beginning and I’m still very passionate about it,’’ he says.
His USP? ‘‘I have been told that I can handle comic and serious roles very well. Both laughing and crying are easy for me,’’ he says with confidence.
Ambooty is the voice of Duryodhanan (Puneet Issar) in the dubbed version of Mahabharatam, aired by Amrita TV. ‘‘It has been a tough task. Everybody is familiar with Puneet Issar’s voice. So, I had to put in my own contribution so that the punch was there,’’ he says.
And Ambooty has dubbed and is dubbing for many regional language films dubbed into Malayalam, advertisements, Malayalam films and other serials. He is the voice of Telugu comedian Brahmanand in many of the movies dubbed into Malayalam.
‘‘Also, I dubbed for Nagesh sir in the dubbed version of Thiruvilayadal for television. I consider it as an honour,’’ he says. Another big moment was when he gave track voice for Mohanlal in the films Photographer, Hallo and Paradesi and for Kalabhavan Mani in Rakshakan.
An interesting experience was working for the film Shhhh... which had no language, with Ranjith Chengamanad. ‘‘We just made voices. It was quite a unique assignment,’’ he says. Ambooty remembers working for Malayalam version of the animation serial Jungle Book, for Doordarshan. He was the voice of a wolf and an elephant. ‘‘I remember giving voice for elephant by speaking through a sheet folded like spittoon,’’ he says. He puts down his gratitude to many, like recordist C R Chandran (who also won state award this year) and V-Tracks studio, ‘‘which has been a dubbing school for me.’’
Now, he dreams of becoming an actor. ‘‘I think many people hesitate to call me because the label- dubbing artist- is always there,’’ he says. He has acted in the film Bamboo Boys. A big opportunity was given by Adoor Gopalakrishnan in his films- Oru Pennum Randaanum and Naalu Pennungal. ‘‘Acting in his films has been like winning awards.’’
Ambooty stays at Kannettumukku with wife Girija and daughters Sreelakshmy and Bhagyalakshmy. ‘‘My daughters also go for dubbing, without affecting studies,’’ he says.
Ambooty can be contacted at 9895411484.