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No filter: Meet the voice behind some of the leading Tamil actresses
As models, we shoot for television commercials (TVC) and enjoy seeing the finished product on screens in theatres or on TV. Several years ago, partly because I started dating a voice artist, I got curious to find out about this whole industry that many people, including myself, knew very little about.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
Smruthi Kalyanasundaram is one of the most sought-after female voice-over artists, who speaks three languages, but dubs in 12 different languages. When I caught up with her, the first thing she tells me is that she’s practising dubbing in a new language, so she’s hoping to make it to 13 by the end of the month.
Smruthi admits that she never thought being a voice-over artist could be a viable and lucrative position for her. But, it all started almost a decade ago when her uncle had asked her to record a voice sample, and the amateur singer had agreed to it. The client really liked it and hired for a Hindi voice-over. She tells me she was bitten by the bug soon and the microphone soon became her new best friend, and the recording booth her second home. Pretty soon, she was receiving calls to dub for cartoons on Nickelodeon, to Angry Birds, to every other TVC with a female voice we have watched over the last decade, which she lent her voice to.
Over the past three years, she has forayed into the film industry to dub for some of the biggest stars in cinema. Many of you may think this is a natural shift, but quite a hard industry to break into. Actresses, impressed with her voice talent from the commercials she had previously dubbed for, started requesting directors to give Smruthi a chance. Not one to take an opportunity lightly, she worked hard to grab these gigs.
She says, “I always do my homework before going in for a voice test with a director. I listen to hours of footage of interviews of the actress, for whom I’ll be lending my voice to, to understand her natural tone, cadence, etc., so that I can mould the character’s voice accordingly. I also take a lot of guidance from my directors and I’m very grateful for all the opportunities coming my way. Many of the projects I have dubbed for are finally releasing this year. It’s a major ‘pinch-me’ moment for me. I’ll happily drag the whole family to watch the movies.”
Just in 2020, she has a long line-up of films, wherein she dubbed for Trisha, Keerthy Suresh, Kajal Aggarwal, Regina Cassandra, and many more. The list is long, and there are many projects she can’t disclose just yet. Her being invited to dub at the YRF Studios for the Tamil version of War for Anupriya Goenka is one of her dream milestones.
She hopes to be in theatres for a first day first show of Paramapadham Vilayattu, in which she dubbed for Trisha. I don’t know about you, but I grew up wanting to be a superhero. Smruthi has found the next best thing, to be the voice of Captain Marvel in Tamil version of Avengers Endgame. What started off with her saying yes to her uncle, has flourished into a beautiful career that led to her quitting her 9-to-5 job in 2013. So, say yes to the opportunities that come your way, and you never know what marvellous things they might turn into.
Actor Arun Vijay, wife Aarathi’s love is #couplegoals
Valentine’s day just went by and everyone in the city put up lovey-dovey posts, and then life went on. One week later, while the love haze seemed to have almost disappeared for everyone, one couple that kept the love, romance and respect for each other alive, won over the internet.
Actor Arun Vijay and Aarathi have been showing what true love stands for. As Arun’s career as an actor evolved, so has their relationship. With a never-ending army of female fans, he is usually heard saying things like, ‘I’m Aarathi’s biggest fan’, and on hearing that, the millennial in me can’t help but think #CoupleGoals.
Aarathi is quite the writer herself and her posts about Arun and her family are modern-day love letters. As with most great love stories, I’m hoping when someone writes a book about these two, her posts are also included.
With Arun’s Mafia running successfully in theatres and the hashtag ‘25 Years of AV (Arun Vijay)’ trending, one of the first posts that pops up is Aarathi marking the momentous occasion with choice words. She highlighted Arun’s efforts, hard work and his virtues that helped him sustain a successful film career for a quarter of a century — which is a no mean feat. During days when couples and relationships last less than the time it takes to watch a film, this couple offers relationship goals in the best possible way. If any director is reading this, this is a love story that needs to be told on the silver screen and I’m sure it will be a smashing hit.
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