You dubbed for Allu Arjun’s character Pushpa Raj in the movie ‘Pushpa-The Rise’ and it has got massively appreciated around the globe. How are you dealing with the popularity?
It’s amazing. Success in any form is success at the end of the day. And it is better that I am grateful for it and enjoy the moment. Because things like this, especially an actor’s work getting appreciated for dubbing is extremely strange. This is the first time I have come across something like this, that ‘dubbing kisine kiya hai and uske bhi charche ho rahe hain’ (someone who has dubbed for the movie is also getting appreciated) (chuckles). So I feel extremely good about it. I feel that whatever effort that I have put in has reached the audience and they have liked my work. So what better thing or what bigger reward or award does one have to ask for than the fact that the audience has loved your work. But again getting popular for dubbing is something I have experienced for the first time in my career. So it is strangely unbelievable but at the same time, it is extremely a happy moment for me like I said success is success at the end of the day, let it come in any form and one should be happy about it.
Go on…
I am extremely grateful, humbled, and overwhelmed with the response and there are times when my wife and I keep talking about what it is that I have done. Because if you ask me, I have just done my job. I just went there, I saw the film, I saw the character and I felt as if I am performing there and that is the reason why I have to do more than justice to that part. When someone else is relying on you, it becomes a bigger responsibility. So if Mr Arjun thinks that his film should look like this and sound like this, he should get what he wants and of course people should get their money’s worth. So that was the only thought when I went there to dub and it worked. Whatever little efforts and masti we did while dubbing, it worked big time. So now when people tag me on social media for the work I have done, it feels great. I would like to thank Mr Allu ji for such a phenomenal and fantastic performance, Sukumar ji for making such a great film, Abul ji, who is our dubbing director, for giving me this opportunity and making sure that we give it a shot.
Where were you when you got a call from the ‘Pushpa’ team? How did you agree upon dubbing for a regional film?
I was shooting for my Marathi show, ‘Majhi Tujhi Reshim Gaath’ and that is when Manish ji messaged me that they are planning to release ‘Pushpa-The Rise’ all over India and asked me whether I am keen on dubbing for Allu ji’s character. I informed him that I haven’t done dubbing before and only did it once for ‘The Lion King’ but also told him that I don’t mind giving it a shot. Because personally as an actor I have always experimented, some worked some didn’t but that is fine as it’s all part and parcel. So I requested whether I can see the film first and then take a call but I had already heard great things about ‘Pushpa’ Also, I have always liked Allu ji as an actor so I went and saw the film and I was completely blown away after watching it. The way Allu Arjun has portrayed the character, the way they have shot the film, the subject and the fact that it’s a complete masala and massy entertainer, I agreed to dub for it.
How was the dubbing experience and what all happened at the recording studio?
As there are certain characters that you do, certain characters you have done, and some characters that you haven’t done and you don’t know when you will do those characters. So when you get an opportunity like this, to be that character that you want to be but someone else has portrayed it then you try to give your own little thing. So we did a few voice samples and saw which ones suited the character best. I was quite pleasantly surprised when they asked me to dub the film and in return, I asked them, why do they think I should be dubbing for the movie? Abul ji had already seen my work and he felt that my voice would be the closest to Allu ji’s in terms of emotions and things like that. So it was a bigger responsibility but I am happy at the end of it.
Any special reaction or praise that you received.
Of course! Industry people called and congratulated me on my work. Someone like Mr David Dhawan called me up and said, ‘Tune toh 70s ke Bachchan saab ki yaad dila di, jab aisi dialogue baazi hoti thi and dialogues famous hote the’. I got calls from Madhur Bandharkar, Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, etc but what I liked the most is the way our audience has taken the character, the film and the dubbing. And especially kids, I think when it reaches kids it’s probably one of the biggest awards that you can achieve. Because reaching out to them, relating it with them, and doing things which they understand or they feel like doing is a very, very difficult thing to do.
My daughter was kinda away from all the ‘Pushpa’ fever most of the time but once she came on the shoot and suddenly everybody around was talking about ‘Pushpa’, and she saw all of that. And the very next day, when she was going to sleep and when I greeted her, she replied, ‘Good Night, Pushpa’ (laughs). So that was really cute and that I find cute about all the kids and that is something that gives me immense happiness more than anything else.
How is your family reacting to the trend?
My parents, my in-laws, my friends, my cousin, all of them are very happy. They all have gone bonkers. At times, I feel like more than me they are more excited and they keep sharing memes, videos and stuff with me. As I said earlier, I haven’t seen this before, I have just dubbed for the film and itna hungama ho raha hai. Honestly, I don’t know how to react. Something like this happening for my dubbing is something extremely new to me and also a happy moment for me. My mom is very happy as she gets calls from her friends, my in-laws are very happy and it’s a great feeling to see your family happy.
Though you have dubbed for the film, you cannot deny that you are a part of the film
Yes, I will not deny, I am very much part of the film and it is no longer limited to me dubbing the film. I have not met a single actor from the film, nor the director and no one but yet I feel I am a huge part of ‘Pushpa’ and it’s a wonderful feeling for any artist. When I look back, maybe after five years, this will be a moment to cherish.
What will you do when you meet Allu Arjun?
I will hug, kiss and thank him as I keep saying this over again and again that he has made my job simpler. The way he has portrayed the character is phenomenal and I just had to emote him. Of course, there were some complex scenes which were difficult but again if I meet him, I will hug, kiss, and say, ‘Thank you so much for being Pushpa and thank you so much for making me Pushpa.’
Your TV show is extremely popular and you were also doing some films while you dubbed for the film. How did you juggle and manage the time?
A couple of years had been bad for the industry, for all of us as everyone was sitting at home and doing nothing. Luckily for me this TV show happened, followed by some Hindi and Marathi films and then this dubbing offer came to me. But if you want to do it, if you have the urge to do it, and if you have the hunger to do it then you will find the time to do it. And if you are enjoying your work then whatever number of hours you work, you will never feel tired. My wife was stressed out when I was juggling between shoots and the dubbing. But I assured her not to worry as this is what I always wanted to try. I juggled my time and also took some rest. As I always wanted to do this, there was always a little hunger in my tummy that I wanted to do something like this and I am glad that I did it. If talking about juggling and stress, it’s perfectly fine, a couple of years we were at home so now it’s time to go out working.
