“Can you drop the Indian accent?” – Accents and voice overs
Recently, I did a voice over in Jakarta for an ad pitch. They were looking for a middle-aged woman with a North American accent who could speak with warmth, like a mother to her growing child. Now…
Where the deed was done!
- I’m indeed a ‘native’ English speaker
- I’m certainly from North America (yes the Canadian prairies count!)
- I’m quite happily in my 40s so the right ‘age’ (more or less)
However… I don’t exactly have what you would call a typical ‘Canadian’ accent any more. Truth be told after a decade plus in India, it has more than just a tinge of an Indian lilt.
So given just how Indianized my accent has become, it was no surprise that my friend who arranged the voice recording begged me “Can you please drop your Indian accent?”
Apparently I succeeded in reclaiming my ‘home and native land’ accent. We were able to ‘nail’ the recording in only 5 takes – including options for the client to consider.
Now I’m not a professional at doing voice recordings, so it was an amusing experience however it did prompt me to think about how our accents adapt to our environment. (more…)
Improbable Efficiency – A Dabba Love Story
Dabba or tiffin (Photo: Carissa Hickling)
I recently saw a new film “The Lunchbox” or “Dabba” by Ritesh Batra starring Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur. It was a private preview screening for cast, crew, family and friends before the official world premier in Cannes this weekend. My interest was a chance to see my partner on-screen – playing the role of Irrfan’s boss. Irrfan’s character Saajan Fernandez is a taciturn claims officer in a public insurance company, about to retire after 35 years of service. Nimrat plays Ila, a young middle class housewife and mother.
The premise of the story is that Saajan and Ila’s husband’s lunch dabbas are mistakenly switched when delivered by Mumbai’s dabba wallas. Saajan, a widower, has a neighbourhood restaurant send him lunch in office. Whereas Ila carefully prepares her husband’s lunch, hoping to re-capture his drifting regard through the quality and inventiveness of her culinary creations. She is amazed one day when the dabba is returned home with the food so relished that the container was uncharacteristically licked clean!
Everyday Asia 