'It is tough to recreate the same emotion of the character inside the four walls of the studio,' says dubbing artist Devi

Malayalam TV actors often thank one person when they are widely lauded for their on-screen characters. It is none other than the dubbing artists, who lend their voice to the actor. One among them is artist Devi, who has dubbed for hundreds of serials in her career. In a candid chat with ETimes TV, Devi spoke about her career as a child actor, lending voice to some iconic characters, her lockdown experiences and much more...

From Manjil Virinja Poovu's Anjana to Kudumbavilakku's Sumithra, Devi is currently dubbing for almost all the main protagonists of Malayalam TV.

However, it is a lesser-known fact that she started her career as a child actor.

"My first serial was 'Oru Kudayum Kunju Pengalum', I was in the first standard. While I was dubbing for my character in the studio then, I liked it and I asked the team whether I can dub for another character too. That was my experience in dubbing," she said.

Later, she has entered the field of dubbing and has been the voice of many female actors both in movies and serials for the last two decades.

Talking about her current most challenging work, Devi shared that she is putting many efforts into dub for Meera Vasudev, who plays the titular character Sumithra in 'Kudumbavilakku'.

"This character is much older to me. Also, Sumithra is someone who suppresses her emotions in front of everyone. So, it's challenging to bring out subtle emotions through voice, but I am enjoying it," she shared.

On the other hand, when asked about her all-time favourite characters, without a second thought, Devi said it's Kuttimani of serial 'Moonnumani'.

"I still watch the old episodes of 'Moonnumani' and wonder how I did it! Kuttimani was a mentally-challenged character, who is full of childishness. It was the most challenging character for me. Also, I gained much appreciation for one particular scene in 'Seetha'. People still laud me for that particular scene where Seetha is getting divorced from her first marriage. I was so involved in that scene even cried with Swasika and caught cold after dubbing for it," Devi recollected.

When asked about the gimmicks she brings to her voice for different characters, Devi shared that she chooses the voice for each role depending upon the actress and the character, She said, "I chose the voice as per the physical appearance of the actress. Even though Rebecca Santhosh plays a bold advocate in 'Kasthooriman', her voice shouldn't be that bold as it won't suit her physical appearance, so I have chosen a bit base voice for her. On the other hand, I am giving a strong voice for Alina in 'Ammayariyathe'".

Devi also shared that dubbing is one of the toughest jobs as you have to recreate the same emotion of the character within the four walls of a dubbing studio.

"When the actor is doing the tedious physical work like fetching water or doing household works, the same strain is expected from her voice too. It is often tough to create that. The same goes for the non-Malayali actors too. As they don't know the language, they cut dialogues in the appropriate places, and to get lip sync is pretty hard," she shared.

Even though the dubbing artists are often known as the unsung heroes of a TV serial, the national award-winning artist is happy that people have started recognising their work these days.

"During one of the award functions, actress Rebecca Santhosh quoted my name while receiving the best actress award, it was one of the most special moments. Now, even the audience started recognising my voice. It is a blessing that they are listening to my voice from 6:30 to 9:30 every night for the last two decades," she added.

Talking about her lockdown days, Devi shared that it was one of the first times that she could spend such a long break time with her family. However, she has shared one of the hilarious moments too.

"It was during the triple lockdown that happened in Trivandrum. We didn't have any other choice but to send a voice, or else the episode would not air. The only way was to get into my almirah and hang sarees to avoid voice shattering and record the voice through mobile," Devi laughed.