Raveena Ravi has been a successful dubbing artist, having dubbed for actresses like Amy Jackson, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Regina Cassandra. And now, she has become one of them. “I was very nervous initially. But I think I have managed to ace it. A lot of people helped me along the way and I’m thankful for that,” she says. “The humid weather was perhaps my toughest challenge.”
Asked if the director gave her any references for how to play her role, she says, “No, all he wanted from me was for me to be natural and spontaneous.”
She cites one particular scene as example of this. “The scene needed me to yell, but I thought I could take care of it during the dubbing. The director pointed out I was wrong to think so, and jokingly pointed out that this is what happens when an actress also happens to be a dubbing artist.”
Raveena has found plenty of differences between the two roles. “Dubbing is far less stressful as you don’t always have too many people being privy to your work. But, as far as acting is concerned, at all times, you are acutely conscious as there are a lot of people watching.
I had quite a few hiccups, with respect to my body language. I was also initially a bit rigid and had to learn how to loosen up.”
Before long, the actress begins to speak about her chief area of strength: dubbing. She says that she decides at the very beginning what pitch and tone to speak in, for a character based on the traits.
“I try to bring in a lot of sophistication when the character is refined. For mature characters, I try to add more bass. If the character is gentle, then my voice will be mellow. Though we, dubbing artists, get briefed by the director on these aspects, we must also be able to make judgement calls sometimes,” she says.
Over the years, technology has really transformed the process of dubbing, according to Raveena. “It has made the whole process cost-effective and has helped in streamlining the process. Earlier, it was all quite difficult as a dubbing artist had to rehearse each and every area of speech, including pauses, and say, sneezing. Now the process is a lot more simpler.
We can afford to take breaks and resume again. But of course, this brings with it its own challenges, like making sure that there are no continuity issues.”
Raveena, who’s very excited about her role in Oru Kidaiyin…, has a fair share of projects she’s dubbing for, including Kathanayagan (for Catherine Tresa), Thittam Pottu Thirudara Kootam (for Satna Titus), and Hara Hara Mahadevaki (for Nikki Galrani). She’s also a part of the untitled Tovino Thomas-Pia Bajpai film and the untitled Mammootty project. But for the moment, her attention is on the potential reception to her new role as an actress. “I have tried very hard to unlearn everything I learned through vocal acting. Hope the audience likes my acting.”
Source: The New Indian Express