When dubbing goes global, the voice matters. SS Rajamouli is taking an expansive approach to localising Varanasi, ensuring that the performances of , Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran retain their emotional impact across languages. The filmmaker plans to dub the film in around 50 languages and release it across 120 countries, using real artistes rather than AI-generated or synthetic voices.
Mahesh Babu and SS Rajamouli
“Rajamouli [doesn’t want] the performance to get diluted when the film moves from one language to another. For him, dubbing is not just about translating the dialogue and matching the lip movements. The voice has to carry the emotion, personality, and intent of the character. Rajamouli wants the audience in every market to experience the performance, not just know the dialogue,” explains a source close to production.
Rajamouli recently dismissed suggestions that AI was used to create the film’s glimpse, calling it “a huge insult to their artistic genius”. The source adds, “The voice is an extension of that performance, so he wants real artistes behind the different language versions. Over 1500 artistes’ works will be sampled before choosing the voices for the final cut.”