Sharad Kelkar has opened up about dubbing for Yash, who portrays Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s ‘Ramayana’. The actor has provided the voice for Yash’s character in the Hindi version. He recently discussed the challenges of the assignment, his conversations with Yash and the director’s approach to portraying the demon king. Kelkar also praised Yash’s preparation and identified several sequences that particularly impressed him.In an interview with Variety India, Sharad Kelkar revealed that Nitesh Tiwari and the film’s core team approached him for the Hindi dubbing assignment. The actor said he had expressed his desire to work with the filmmaker during an earlier meeting. The opportunity eventually brought them together on the ambitious mythological project.
Sharad Kelkar says Nitesh Tiwari’s team chose him for Yash
Sharad Kelkar recalled how the collaboration came about and mentioned his connection with Niraj Sanghai of Prime Focus. He also remembered meeting Nitesh Tiwari at Ravie Dubey’s residence while the director was preparing for ‘Ramayana’.“Nitesh Tiwari and the core team decided that I should dub for Yash in the Hindi version. Niraj Sanghai of Prime Focus is a good friend. In fact, when I met Nitesh Sir last year at Ravie Dubey’s place, I told him I wanted to work with him. He was busy preparing for the ‘Ramayana’ shoot. This was a great opportunity and finally, we worked together.”
‘Ramayana’ explores Ravana’s rise as an evil force
The actor also explained how Nitesh Tiwari envisioned Ravana’s journey in the film. According to Sharad Kelkar, the narrative gives considerable attention to the character’s earlier life. It explores his origins and the events that shaped his transformation into an evil force.“Nitesh Sir conceived the film basically from Ravan’s rise as an evil force. While audiences have seen Lord Ram’s childhood, nobody has seen Ravan’s past: where he came from and what happened to him. Ravaan’s life is shown in a much extended manner than scenes from Ayodhya,” he said.
Sharad Kelkar explains the challenges of dubbing for Yash
Although Sharad Kelkar praised Yash’s portrayal of Ravana, he admitted that adapting the performance for Hindi audiences required considerable effort. Yash speaks Hindi well, but his Kannada-speaking background influenced certain aspects of his pronunciation and dialogue rhythm. The team therefore felt that a separate Hindi voice would work better for the character.“Yash has given an outstanding performance. He is the best choice for the role and he understood the character perfectly. Dubbing for him was not at all easy. I would describe it as interesting because Yash speaks Hindi quite well. But as someone who speaks mostly in Kannada, he has an accent and his rhythm with Hindi words was a bit of an issue. The entire team felt his voice needed to be dubbed for the Hindi version. In Kannada, he has done a brilliant job. He has a fantastic voice.”
Yash and Sharad Kelkar worked closely during dubbing
Sharad Kelkar described Yash as approachable and actively involved in refining the Hindi version. Their conversations helped them work towards the desired outcome. The actor said Yash regularly offered suggestions and encouraged him to improve certain scenes.“Yash is a sweet guy. We had long chats and he would come up with suggestions. He was always striving for the best outcome asking me if I could better some of the scenes. We were all in sync.”
Sharad Kelkar reveals his favorite Ravana sequences
The dubbing assignment was particularly demanding for Sharad Kelkar. He praised Yash’s effort and described Ravana as one of the most challenging characters in the actor’s career. Among his favorite moments were the ten-head sequence, the Vidyutjihva scene and the opening sequence involving Ravana seeking boons from Brahma.“It was one of my most tiring dubbing experiences. I cannot imagine how much effort Yash put in to ace this role. I feel this is the toughest role of his career and he has done an outstanding job. There are a couple of scenes conceived by Nitesh Sir, which I absolutely love. One of them is the 10 heads scene, then the Vidyutjihva one and the opening one where he seeks all the boons from Brahma.”Kelkar added that Ravana’s intelligence and authority influenced his approach to the dubbing. He wanted the character to sound confident rather than uncertain, except in the scene where Ravana consults his ten heads about going to war.“Ravan is a very intelligent, well-read man and he has a command on things. While dubbing, I had to keep in mind that he cannot come across as confused or doubtful. The only scene where he is in doubt is the one where he is talking to his 10 heads wondering if he should go to war or wait? I loved that scene. Kudos to Nitesh Sir and Yash for executing it with such finesse. They made it very easy for me.”Meanwhile, ‘Ramayana’, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, has crossed Rs 200 cr in worldwide gross collections within two days of release. Its India net collection has also moved past Rs 100 cr.