(…) One rarely hears about dubbing artists, who despite remaining in the dark, breathe life into characters with their voice.

“Nobody understands the effort we put in to do justice to the character we dub. It’s not always plain dialogue; sometimes we are required to cry, underplay and even talk in different lingo. We are mostly paid on an hourly basis,” Sunitha Upadrashta, who has dubbed for over 700 Telugu films, told IANS.

She has dubbed for actresses like Nayanthara, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Shriya and Sonali Bendre.

“Our effort is compared to the total number of shooting days of a film. Just because we dub in a few hours or a couple of days doesn’t mean our effort is minimum. People seldom appreciate the effort of voice because cinema is a visual medium and therefore, they are mostly lost in the visual grandeur of a film,” said Sunitha, who is also a famous playback singer.

It was as a singer that “I gained recognition”, said Sunitha, adding, “It’s extremely difficult to be popular as a voiceover artist.

“In cinema, popularity only comes when audiences recognise an artist by his or her face,” she rued, and added: “Since I’m a playback singer and also appear on television, people recognise me. But that’s not the case with other dubbing artists who are never brought to the fore.”

Most voiceover artists have a full-time job and take out time for dubbing assignments whenever needed.

“I work as a Radio Jockey (RJ) when I’m not dubbing,” said Priyanka, who has dubbed for top heroines such as Tamannaah Bhatia, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Tapsee Pannu in Telugu.

Priyanka, who has dubbed for over 30 films, said: “Dubbing artists garner some recognition when actresses back them.”

“I have personally been appreciated by Samantha and Taapsee. In fact, Taapsee referred me to other producers of her films after I dubbed for her. This has personally helped me so much,” she said.

She also finds dubbing a lucrative career option.

“Since I dub for all leading heroines, I have a say over my remuneration. I charge anywhere between Rs.100,000 and Rs.200,000 for a big-budget film,” said Priyanka, who wants dubbing to be included in all awards. More.

See: Business Standard

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