What you see is most likely not what you get. Raise your hands if you grew up wondering why Shobana, Revathi and Divya Unni sounded the same, and were yet so different. Raise your hands if you won the bet about Anupam Kher sounding like Rizabawa in Pranayam.
Now check out our list of the top ten acts helmed by the most excellent dubbing artists. Don’t forget to add your own to the list!
1) Babu Antony in Vaishali (Narendra Prasad):True, Babu Antony did succeed in lending a royal bearing to Lomapada Rajavu but the rest was all veteran actor Narendra Prasad’s hard work. It’s his deep baritone that lent credibility and depth to the charisma of the king.
2) Nimisha Sajayan in Eeda (Sneha): Till the State Award for the best dubbing artist was announced, not many were aware that Nimisha’s voice was dubbed. Not only did Sneha get the Kannur dialect right to the T, she flawlessly complimented the pitch perfect performance of Nimisha. One of those rare instances when the actor and the dubbing artist stood on equal ground.
3) Nimisha Sajayan in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (Srinda): It’s quite an unusual occurrence, to have two different people dub for you and yet make it sound believable. Srinda brought the character’s traits impeccably into the voice, thereby topping Nimisha’s equally nuanced performance with flair.
4) Tiger Prabhakar in Dhruvam (Shammi Thilakan): It’s mostly his deep low-pitched tone that helps in sending a chill down the spine of Hyder’s adversaries. It has the right authority, fearlessness and audacity and pitches perfectly with the mighty baritone of Narasimha Mannadiar.
5) Napoleon in Devasuram (Shammi Thilakan): Mundakkal Shekaran has to rub shoulders with Mangalassery Neelakandan. It’s thanks to Shammi Thilakan’s brilliant dubbing that Shekaran sounds so formidable—the raw hatred and anger he brings to Shekaran is enough to make us fear him.
6) Poornam Vishwanathan in Chithram (Narendra Prasad): Only a Narendra Prasad could do justice to this thespian’s performance. Prasad beautifully intones the performance with a blend of affection and authority.
7) Sathyaraj in Aagathan (Saikumar): Sathyaraj’s voice remains his greatest asset and that’s why Saikumar needs to be complimented for successfully blending his voice with that performance.
8) Sarath Kumar in Pazhassiraja (Shobi Thilakan): Edachena Kunkan, the trusted lieutenant of Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja is a man of few words, but the ones he utters always has a rapt audience. Shobi Thilakan seamlessly brings that authority and power play into the performance, making it one of the finest performances of the actor.
9) Nasser in Ghazal (Shammi Thilakan): Nasser plays an irredeemable villain—a man who uses others for his means. And it was no small task to convincingly dub for such a consummate actor whose voice is as powerful as his performance. But Shammi Thilakan was bang on.
10) Vishnuvardhan in Kauravar (Shammi Thilakan): Vishnuvardhan who looked suitably out of sorts was helped considerably by the dubbing artiste who upped it several notches with his hard work.
This article was first published on Fullpicture.in. TNM has syndicated the content. You can read the original article here.