Lending his voice to Prabhas in Salaar’s Hindi adaptation, Sharad Kelkar says the audience deserves quality
Sharad Kelkar; (right) Prabhas and Prashanth Neel
To Prabhas’ Hindi audience, Sharad Kelkar has grown to be his cinematic voice. The actor first dubbed for Prabhas in Baahubali (2015). Since then, he has lent voice to Hindi versions of several Prabhas-led films, including the recent, Salaar. Thrilled with the response to Prashanth Neel’s directed venture, Kelkar says he enjoys dubbing for Prabhas because of his gracious nature. “Despite being such a big star, he never had any hangups about someone else lending a voice to his character. Prabhas always looks at the bigger picture; he wants the final product to look and sound good. That’s such an admirable quality,” says the actor, who was also the voice of Telugu star Nani in Dasara’s Hindi version.
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This was the first time that Kelkar was working on a project with the KGF franchise director. Crediting the precision of the director, he says, “Prashanth is hardworking. He observes every detail of the film and has clarity in his work. He communicates exactly what he wants from his actors, [even if they think otherwise]. I love that about him. I have seen the same thing in SS Rajamouli sir.”
Having much experience in lending voice to south actors, Kelkar says that several makers undermine the importance of good dubbing. “The dubbed version should sound authentic; it can’t exist for the sake of it. People watching dubbed versions deserve a quality experience,” expresses the actor, who had initially rejected the offer to dub for Nani as he believed his voice wouldn’t suit the actor. “I agreed because the makers told me that his character would be drunk throughout the film, and usually when you are inebriated, you sound huskier than usual. I always maintain that kind of discretion,” he explains.