Voice is one of the best instruments a human being is born with and singing is one of the best exercises for voice. In his recent session on ‘Art of Voicing’ held in Panaji, noted voice over artist Chetan Sashital stressed on resonance of voice. Calling it our strongest weapon, this versatile artist who has been winning the hearts of his listeners turned philosophical and admitted, “Sound energy has the power to create something and it is with this energy that the universe is rotating on.”
Defining what ‘voice’ is in simple terms, he says it’s a ‘Versatile Oral Instrument to Communicate Expression’. Indians are audio-centric and vocal and more expressive compared to their counterparts in other countries.” It is here that voice comes handy as a tool to communicate and express.
Sashital who has the ability to imitate anyone’s voice, has given voice to many television and cartoon characters, Hollywood and Bollywood actors and politicians. And although he is fluent in nine languages, he has give voice overs in over 18 Indian languages, the most recent of which is the Marathi movie ‘Bal Kadu’ on Balasaheb Thackeray after studying his voice for two months. “I listened to Thackeray sample speeches and reproduced it in the film dialogues,” he explains.
Sashital’s quest for right voice began early, as a child. It all began with imitating voices of birds, friends and teachers, then film stars and lastly the common man, which is the most difficult according to him, as voice changes from person to person and each person has a typical way of speaking.
Asked who his favourite characters were, who borrowed his voice or spoke through his voice, Sashital says, “Darth Vader, Goofy, Ballu the bear are some of my favourite characters whom I gave voice overs for. The Close-up ad, however, in which I sang ‘kya aap close-up karte hai?’ in a nasal tone was the most path-breaking one. Besides this, Sashital can also imitate sounds of instruments like the saxaphone and low frequency tones like that of a mosquito or a fly.
Having done research on voice, Sashital concludes that just like ‘gharanas’ in music, there are ‘gharanas’ in voicing too. The tone of the voice is different for different people depending on the amount of air consumption while inhaling and exhaling. “I have total control over my breathing,” he announces and adds, “Sanskrit allows one to master his voice. If you want to have command over your voice, learn Sanskrit. But whichever language a person speaks, his mother tongue always has an influence on it.”
Explaining the difficulties one has to overcome while choosing voicing as a profession, Sashital advises, “You have to understand your voice. There is no formal or technical training. It’s a journey. Develop your listening skills and find the right path."
