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This is the supplementary article to my main piece that has appeared in Sakaal Times today. The main article looks at the Hollywood phenomenon in Bollywood, while this one concerns itself solely with the dubbed market.  Again, you can follow this link and read it as it is on page or read the uncut version below.

Found In Translation

The Hindi box-office phenomenon of 2009 isn’t Love Aaj Kal or Wanted. And it doesn’t star either of the three Khans or Akshay Kumar. Headlined by a tongue-twisting Chiwetel Ejiofor, it is Pralay Ki Shuruat which is this year’s true box-office sensation! Surprised? So was I. In fact I hadn’t even heard of the film until a friend kindly pointed out to me that Pralay Ki Shuruat is the Hindi title for the dubbed version of Roland Emmerich’s end-of-days extravaganza 2012! The Sony Pictures’ release had amassed over Rs.50 crores nett within two weeks of its release, out of which the original English version accounted for just Rs.16 crores. The remainder came from its dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu!

Dubbed Hollywood films, once born out of a necessity for Hollywood studios to penetrate into the B and C centers of the Indian box-office, are no laughing matter anymore. These uniquely titled films are registering serious numbers. Rudram and Yugantham, the Tamil and Telugu versions of 2012, have netted nearly Rs.20 crores in 3 weeks. Even the Hollywood studios have begun to understand the importance of the dubbed segment. The dubbed versions of major Hollywood releases enjoy a 60% share of the total number of prints circulated. When PVR was confronted with queries questioning the absence of a dubbed release for a niche film like Twilight, they decided to release its sequel, The New Moon, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Hollywood studios have begun to understand the importance of the dubbed segment. Vijay Singh, CEO Fox Star Studios, is putting his money on the dubbed market increasing at a faster pace than the English one. “Almost two-thirds of our business for big releases comes from the dubbed versions”, he says.

Dubbed films started to be taken seriously when the likes of Anaconda, X-Men and Spider-Man fetched higher returns in their dubbed ‘avatar’ than their English release. Dhiraj Shah at Big Entertainment believes that the dubbed market always had potential. “Gandhi, Jurassic Park and Titanic all did great business in their dubbed versions. Yet, it was completely overlooked until a few years back when the sheer magnitude of the dubbed films’ success begged attention. Spider-Man 3 was dubbed and released in Bhojpuri even as Makkad Manva!”

Gradually, it is not only the B and C crowd that is watching dubbed films. Even English speaking audiences, who cannot comprehend the accents of Hollywood actors, prefer dubbed films. The Indian audience has always been averse to reading subtitles, and would rather choose a dubbed film. “It is like having the best of both worlds- their production values and your own familiar language”, says film analyst Maithili Rao.

Dubbed Hollywood films enjoy better TRPs than Bollywood ones as well, if a Yes Bank survey is to be believed. UTV Bindass has dedicated itself solely to telecasting dubbed Hollywood flicks, while Sun TV has bought rights to over 750 dubbed in Tamil Hollywood movies.

Multiplexes are also no longer shying from dubbed films. The merely gestural and condescending attitude towards these films is undergoing change. Dev Shetty, a regular viewer of dubbed Hollywood films, swears, “Earlier the dubbing quality of these films was very poor. Voices that didn’t match the actors on screen and laughably simplistic translations were common in every dubbed release. But of late, things are more professional.”

When Disney/Pixar released their 2004 animated adventure The Incredibles in India, they roped in Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan to dub for its Hindi version, Hum Hain Lajawab. It was the first time a major Bollywood actor had lent his voice to a dubbed film.

Don’t be surprised if, in a couple of years, a certain Lakshya: Namumkin 4, with Tom Cruise speaking chaste Hindi in Shahrukh Khan’s voice, emerges as a Bollywood box-office sensation.

- Abhishek Bandekar