The story-teller
Remember the exasperated mother, Mitsy, screaming at the 5-year old hellraiser Shinchan in the Hungama TV cartoon? That was Jaividhya’s voice you heard.
Jaividhya’s career as a voiceover artist has spanned over 35 years. She started out as a child artist, reading out poems on the Ceylone radio. She acted in several plays, during when she realised how much she loved narrating and deciding to prioritise voice acting.
CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 19/03/2018: Voice-over artist and dubbing artist Jaividhya (Shinchan's mother, Mitsy, also does audio books) during an interview with The Hindu, in Chennai on Monday. Photo: R. Ravindran.
Her voice, truly her bread and butter, also features in the audio book of Ponniyin Selvin, a 20th century novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy. “One of the challenges of audiobooks is that you alone have to play all the characters in the book, that requires a lot of voice modulation.” She demonstrates how she plays different animals in audiobooks for children. She switches from speaking in raspy, throaty voice for a fox, to a high pitched giggly voice for a monkey.
How does she embody these characters? “It’s easy, you just need to look at the cartoon or imagine the scene to become them,” she says, shrugging.
Turn up the bass
A powerful bass voice booms out of Gopi Nair when he speaks. Normally calm, he makes you jump an inch behind and curse when he turns on his exceptionally loud ‘edgy advertisement’ voice he reserves for voicing A/Vs for politicians. Nair has won the Voice of Vijay TV award in 2015 for his contribution to the channel. Despite his impressive range of pitches, Nair says that maintaining zero modulation is the most difficult thing to do. “The more subtle, reserved voiceovers are tougher to pull off,” he says.
CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 19/03/2018: Voice-over artist and dubbing artist Gopi Nair (Voice of Vijay TV, Shakuni) during an interview with The Hindu, in Chennai on Monday. Photo: R. Ravindran.
Nair has lent his voice to a wide range of characters from Shakuni in Mahabharatham to Bear Grylls in Man vs Wild. Not just the words, but every breath you take matters in voiceovers- be it interjecting every word with a heavy pant after Gryll has survived yet another episode or puffing before letting out the diabolical laughter Shakuni is infamous for.
“My script is the most important tool in my hands. I read it through and through, and also listen to the accompanying music track to get the feel of the narration,” he says.
Capering about
The sparkle in M Sebastian’s eyes belies his serious face. When Sebastian dubs, he isn’t just acting with his voice, but every muscle of his face- which is hilarious to look at considering he dubs for the cartoon character ‘Patlu’ from the Indian cartoon Motu Patlu. Sebastian loves interacting with children. “He keeps trying to impress every kid he meets with his Patlu voice,” jests Jaividhya, Sebastian’s friend. Sebastian laughs it off but looking at his bubbly nature, it doesn’t seem far-fetched.
CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 19/03/2018: Voice-over artist and dubbing artist M Sebastian (Patlu in Motu Patlu) during an interview with The Hindu, in Chennai on Monday. Photo: R. Ravindran.
It follows that Sebastian has also acted; he played a small role in Araam , a 2017 movie. He is even a decent amateur singer. What he really wants is recognition for his work. “When we dub for cartoons, we breathe life into something that is lifeless. It needs a certain amount of talent. Then why don’t we have a dedicated award for it?,” he asks.
That’s so Pooja
Pooja never thought she’d make a career out of voice-acting. A former L&T professional, the acting bug bit Pooja when she went to visit her husband, a sound engineer, during the dubbing of the Disney show ‘That’s so Raven’ in Telugu. “I loved the modulations and expressioons in Raven’s voice. I knew I had to be a part of the show somehow,” she said. She learnt Telugu in a month after that, if only to do small roles in the show.
CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 19/03/2018: Voice-over artist and dubbing artist G Pooja (Played 9 y/o boy in Aathira) during an interview with The Hindu, in Chennai on Monday. Photo: R. Ravindran.
Even though she is not a full-time dubbing artist- doubling up as a script writer and lyricist- Pooja’s thin voice found use in dubbing for not just the second lead but also a nine-year old boy in the TV series Aathira. Pooja is mutliligual; she taught herself Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English apart from Tamil. This comes in quite handy for a dubbing artist like her.
My voice, my identity
‘Adata nilayam Meenambakkam’ How many times has Devasena Subramaniam’s voice pulled you out of a stupor in the Chennai Metro and prodded you to get down the train? Subramaniam was commissioned to record her voice for the CMRL by the National Film Development Corporation of India after she worked with them for a couple of projects. Unlike other advertisements she has worked for, here the instruction was simple. ‘Be clear and have a good diction’
Before she worked in advertisements, she was an RJ for Radio Mirchi. There is a calming lilt in Subramaniam’s voice that advertisement directors for companies like Bournvita and Tanishq have put to good use. “The director is the key to any advertisement. They know my range and I follow whatever they help me envision,” she says.
Subramaniam was at shopping at Nalli when the store assistant surprised her by recognising her voice. For artists like Subramaniam, their voice is their identity.
