Dubbing for Kangana Ranaut was challenging, says Pallavi Bharti

You might not be very familiar with her face, but Pallavi Bharti’s voice is something that you surely must have heard on television. One of the most recognised and talented Voice Over artists finds her passion is dubbing for other people.

From giving Angelina Jolie’s voice in the Hindi version of ‘Mr. And Mrs. Smith’ to recording Kangana Ranaut’s part in Tanu Weds Manu (English), she has come a long way in her journey.

Speaking of how dubbing gives a spark to her life, Pallavi explains, “Dubbing is magical for me. It gives me a kick to dub for someone so immaculately that whoever listens to that work should not recognise me as the voice but the actor herself. Dubbing gives an opportunity to transform yourself into a completely different character on screen. You do have certain restrictions when you are doing it for someone else; their way of saying a dialogue, their laugh, their sigh is different than yours, but that’s the beauty. You maintain all that, copy that and use your voice to give your touch to what already has been done on the screen.”

Bharti has dubbed for uncountable celebrities including Madhuri Dixit, Farah Khan, Juhi Chawla, Judi foster, Kate Hudson, Gillian Anderson, Michelle and many others.

Though her job seems to be quite fascinating and interesting, for sure has it has its own difficulties.

“Well, obviously it is different to dub for different genres.  When you dub for Hollywood movies/ documentaries/ TVCs/ interviews it’s subtle and closer to reality. However, South movies are usually loud, overdramatic just like animation”, she explains.

“I remember when I dubbed in Kangana Ranaut’s voice for Tanu Weds Manu (for the foreign audience) I had to completely be like her. I had to learn her tone, her body language, where she takes pauses, her chuckle etc. Moreover, It is slightly difficult to dub a Hindi content in English. You have to change a lot of Indian concepts and phrases so as to connect better with the foreign audience.  For example, they will not understand what a ‘ladki ke ghar usse dekhne aana ceremony’ is. So adapting lines and changing them by keeping in mind the target group, while maintaining the flavour of the film throughout is challenging but super fun,” she further added.