CHENNAI: Well-known voice artiste Deepa Venkat, who has lent her voice to actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in director Mani Ratnam's magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan 1', has showered praise on Aishwarya, saying that she was literally dumbfounded by the perfect, proper Tamil the actress had spoken in the original pilot.
Taking to Instagram to pen a lengthy post on how exceptional Aishwarya's work in the film was, Deepa said, "No one is where they are, just by chance or luck."
"It takes years of patience, perseverance, hardwork, intelligence, smartness, passion, and a host of such qualities to hone your skills with dedication and commitment to reach excellence.
"It was a pleasant surprise to be voicing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. There were more surprises. The original pilot had her speaking perfect, proper Tamil. I was literally dumbfounded. Mind you, for most of us, who speak regular everyday Tamil, even simple sentences in chaste Tamil can be challenging. And while recording such lines, for the diction, expression, delivery, and everything to be spot on, it takes time. And here, Aishwarya Rai was rocking it!" Deepa said.
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"Next surprise. There was barely anyone helping her with the lines during the take. This means, no one prompting. She had it all in her head. She had taken a whole lot of time, and like a good student, done her homework, properly. "Dubbing la paathukalam" is a common line during the shoot in many, many places to just mouth your lines knowing well that someone else is doing your lines, so why bother? Not her, and definitely, not here.
"It is artists like her, who show the way, that no matter how high you reach, you don't take anything for granted. And that every single detail matters.
"It has been absolutely wonderful to try and match her poise, tone and expression. It didn't come easily but I thoroughly enjoyed the process."
"A big thank you to director Dhanasekar, who patiently answered my endless questions during the dub sessions and Mani sir's team, the sound engineer, Muthu. Mani sir, mikka nandri. Grateful, indebted," she added