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Why Is One Indian Film Released In 5 Languages At Once? The Complete Process Explained
A film may be made in one language, but reaching audiences across India involves dubbing, voice casting, subtitles, certification and separate regional distribution.
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Ever wondered how a film made in one Indian language also appears in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. You must be thinking that the filmmakers are making five different movies but no, that’s not true. In this article, we explain you the whole process behind this.
Usually, it is just one film, one set of visuals and one original production, which is then adapted for audiences speaking different languages. But that adaptation involves a lot more than simply putting the dialogue into Google Translate and getting an actor to read it. Multilingual releases like Toxic, Ramayana and I’m Game are a fairly complicated operation.
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First Things First: What Is The Original Language?
Every film has an original language in which it was recorded. For example, Toxic is a Kannada film and has been positioned as a major pan-India release, with versions available across multiple languages. The performances, dialogues, background sounds, music, editing and final visuals are all put together in the original production. The other language versions are then created from this master.
So What Exactly Is A Dubbed Version?
A dubbed version is basically the same film where the original spoken dialogue is replaced with dialogue in another language. Let’s take for example that a character says something in Kannada. For the Hindi audience, that dialogue will be translated and adapted into Hindi. A Hindi-speaking voice artist then records it while watching the scene so that the delivery matches the actor’s performance as closely as possible. The same process happens for Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada or other languages.
One thing important for you to note is that dubbing is not always a word-for-word translation. Imagine an actor says a joke in the original language that makes perfect sense to local audiences. If you translate those exact words into another language, the joke might sound completely stupid. Sometimes, some dialogues lose their meaning too if only local language people could understand the reference.
Then Who Gives The Voice?
The actor on screen doesn’t necessarily provide the voice in every language. The voice casting do it. Actors who are comfortable speaking multiple Indian languages may dub their own lines. In fact, this can be a big selling point because the audience gets the star’s actual voice.
For example, the cast of RRR included actors who dubbed their performances in several languages, helping the film feel more authentic across different markets. But if an actor doesn’t speak a particular language fluently, the team brings in a professional dubbing artist. The voice has to suit the actor, match the actor’s expressions, pauses, emotions and timing.
What About Songs?
A film may have its songs released in several languages. Sometimes the lyrics are translated and adapted. Sometimes the original song is retained. Sometimes a separate singer records the song for a dubbed version. The translated lyrics need to fit the music, rhythm, emotion and sometimes even the lip movements.
Certification
Here’s something many people don’t realise: the film isn’t simply dubbed and sent straight to theatres. The theatrical versions have to go through the applicable certification process. A very recent example is Toxic.
The film’s Hindi version received an A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after modifications were directed, including muting an abusive line directed at a child and trimming part of a drug-use scene. So even though you’re watching the same underlying film, a dubbed version can have its own certification journey.
Who Decides Where Each Version Will Release?
This is the regional distribution part. A producer may have a film available in five languages, but that doesn’t mean every theatre in India will show all five versions. There is no point giving a small theatre in a region with very little demand 10 shows of a Tamil-dubbed version when audiences there overwhelmingly prefer the Hindi version. So distributors and exhibitors look at things here.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Dubbing a film accurately presents challenges beyond simple word-for-word translation, as jokes or cultural nuances may not directly transfer to other languages. It also involves re-performing something that already exists and is globally loved, which can be tricky in emotionally charged scenes.
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Original source: https://www.news18.com/movies/bollywood/
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