Sharad Kelkar on journey as voice actor after 'Baahubali'
Sharad Kelkar was already a popular film-TV actor, but he touched unprecedented heights of acclaim and nationwide recognition with SS Rajamouli's Baahubali (2015-17) series. Though he didn't act in the two films, he lent his voice to the main lead, Prabhas, in the Hindi versions. Subsequently, he became Prabhas's voice in the Hindi belt, having dubbed for him in Adipurush and Salaar, too. In a new interview, Kelkar opened up on how Baahubali altered the course of his professional life.
Overcoming stammering, learning craft of dubbing
Revealing he used to stammer as a child, Kelkar told The Indian Express, "I used to stammer till I started acting. I never dreamed of becoming an actor, let alone being a voice actor." "Once I corrected my breathing, I stopped stammering. Then I started observing other actors as to how they speak so fluently and worked toward it. Once my stammering stopped, people started noticing my voice." He added that he learned dubbing from voice artist Mona Shetty.
Recognition for voice actors after 'Baahubali'
Kelkar also expressed that the Baahubali movies have drawn everyone's attention to the voice-over industry. He shared, "People have now started noticing the voice-over artistes like people recognized [Shreyas Talpade] in Pushpa and Sachin Gole for Yash in KGF. "I think after Baahubali, it is no more true that you don't know the person who has dubbed, whose voice it is," he opined. However, Kelkar also added that more work needs to be done in this direction.
How 'Baahubali' films changed his life
Kelkar said, "In [South Indian films], I haven't done much work in a very long time. I haven't dubbed Hollywood films in a...long time, either." "But the recognition I got for Prabhas's films was big. I don't think it has happened with anyone in the voicing industry." "Baahubali brought about that change... People knew me, but they also noticed that I am a voice actor. They started recognizing my voice being used...other actors also started getting recognition," he added.
Voicing Ravana in 'The Legend Of Hanuman' series
Kelkar's latest project as a voice actor is the third season of Disney+ Hotstar's animated series, The Legend Of Hanuman, where he lent his voice to Ravana. He said he was drawn to the show due to its writing. Kelkar stated, "I wanted to break the cliche. I wanted people to feel some fascination for Ravana. I wanted viewers to be curious about how Ravana was, his interpersonal relationships with his family and his enemy."
