Sharad Kelkar's birthday: How he contributed to 'Baahubali' Hindi versions
Actor-voice artist Sharad Kelkar is the jack of many trades and is known for projects such as Tanhaji, Laxmii, and Ram-Leela. In 2015, his career reached greater heights after he dubbed for Prabhas for the Hindi versions of SS Rajamouli's Baahubali: The Beginning and then in 2017 for Baahubali: The Conclusion. Why is his contribution so important? On his 47th birthday, let's decode.
He helped the films reach a larger audience
Had it not been for Kelkar's remarkably distinctive voice, perhaps, the Baahubali franchise would not have been the kind of pan-India phenomenon it eventually became. Be it the scenes featuring Amarendra's romance with Devsena (Anushka Shetty) or his confrontation with Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan)—the Hindi versions stood tall on the rock-hard foundation laid by Kelkar. He became the voice of Baahubali, both literally and figuratively.
His voice suited Prabhas's characters remarkably well
Through his work in both films, Kelkar proved that he was the perfect choice for Prabhas's characters and his resounding, strong, firm voice exactly matched the personalities of the roles played by Prabhas. When Kelkar had to voice Shiva, he sounded youthful and flamboyant, and when he had to dub for Amrendra Baahubali, he sounded determined and resolute—as befitting a mighty king.
Marked a departure from comical Hindi dubbing of South films
For far too long, the Hindi dubbed versions of leading South Indian films have been comical and borderline ridiculous, with unnecessary regional accents added in dialogues to make everything sound humorous and light-hearted. However, the Baahubali series marked a welcome change; Manoj Muntashir Shukla's dialogues in chaste Hindi, then delivered with finesse by Kelkar, uplifted the charm of these stellar fantasy period drama movies.
Now, he is known as Prabhas's voice in the North
Kelkar's astounding run on the Baahubali series helped his career massively, and now, the audience in the North Indian belt knows him as Prabhas's voice. Not everyone is comfortable reading subtitles, so Kelkar's voice also helped in taking the films to such viewers. More recently, he once again dubbed for Prabhas for Adipurush and the dialogues were yet again penned by Shukla.
