Ketan Kavva has been a voice actor since he was 15! The film went onto become the first biopic to surpass $1 billion at the box office worldwide. The actor recently dubbed in Hindi for the biopic Michael , based on the life of Michael Jackson . He voiced for Jaafar Jackson , an opportunity as interesting as it is challenging. In a free-flowing interview with Hindustan Times, Ketan opened up about his journey as a voice artiste and the many challenges it brings. (Excerpts)
As a result, I have to constantly keep my voice in check, maintain it and I keep on exploring my voice in different genres. They must get some recognition, so that people can also see their work.” He elaborates further. “As an actor, they know the whole story. But when I am performing we are only given one scene and we do not even know most times that what will happen next. So every scene is a challenge. We have to audition, then get to the role, and then get rid of that character to play another character. Not every film is given to us to see before release… we only get the scene. Each voice actor gets his scene only. The director helps us with the character’s arc of course, but after that it is the voice actor takes it forward. Ketan goes on, “I started dubbing when I was in my first year of college. My uncle is into dubbing, and I started off with his help. Initially I would not reveal my last name… in the hope that if I did bad then I must not let him down. I gave several auditions and got to play several interesting characters. I played Robin in Teen Titans Go!, Kyle Hakim in Beyblade for years… which were liked a lot. I also tried to dub in animal voices for several shows. Like Sharkdog in Netflix! After so many years in the industry, what change does he want to see, if any? Ketan adds, “When I started doing dubbing, to what I see now, a lot of change has come to an industry where we are all connected by a small group of people. If there is any change that should come, it is the fact that voice actors should also get some recognition for their work. There are so many award shows for actors, creators, and a category can be created for voice actors too. They must not remain behind the camera only. They also work hard, and it is very difficult.
“I feel we are very lucky when it comes to dubbing. OTT has helped dubbing and voice artists, which has helped us get better opportunities, and as an actor we also get the chance to grow. As an artist, we grow every day. Every day is a new challenge. That is my work,” he concludes.
I do not know what character I will get now, and I have to give my 100%.
Earlier, the dubbing was so different where many artists would have to dub at once and for a length.
