PremiumExclusive | Nikhil Siddhartha's SPY employs AI ensure near perfection in dubbing 'lip sync'
"With SPY, you will find that the sync is perfectly intact for all versions and it won't seem like you are watching a film made in a different language," says Nikhil Siddhartha
Last Updated: 07.34 PM, Jun 28, 2023
It goes without saying that Nikhil Siddhartha is currently enjoying arguably the best phase of his acting career so far. Of course, the past decade-and-a-half has seen him deliver a number of successful films and also establish himself as a viable 'solo' actor, who's willing to try out genres and subjects of all kinds.
But one senses a stronger and mightier wind beneath his wings following the success of Karthikeya 2, a film that earned him not only a huge box office hit but also recognition across the country as the new 'pan-India' actor on the block. The success of the film's Hindi version, in particular, helped Nikhil Siddhartha gain traction in the northern part of India and as a result, the anticipation for the sequel Karthikeya 3 has permeated almost the entire country. Alongside, the other films of his that are in the offing, such as SPY, Swayambhu and India House, too, have caught the attention of a much larger audience.
Perhaps that is why the entire team of SPY has striven hard to ensure that the film is dubbed in other languages with the same high-quality standards in place. The espionage thriller is due to release on June 29 in multiple Indian languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and the original Telugu and Nikhil Siddhartha was recently in Bengaluru to promote the Kannada version of his film.
"SPY is going to be a wholesome family entertainer. It's got a U/A certificate without any cuts from the censor so that alone tells you that it's a clean film which you can enjoy with your whole family. Bakrid is going to be a national holiday and on the 29th (of June), I want every Indian to watch this film. I believe that (it has the power) to bring us a little closer to one another - my cinema might be very small but even a drop in the ocean is a start and I hope I can make some change," said Nikhil in a conversation with OTTplay.
And about the dubbing aspect, he shares that the team has made use of AI technology to eliminate the 'lipsync' issues that exist in the case of dubbed films. "They are using very good technology to tackle the mismatch of the lip movement that one finds in dubbed films. With SPY, you will find that the sync is perfectly intact for all versions and it won't seem like you are watching a film made in a different language. And the culture that you see in the film is also quite universal and common because of the backdrop of the armed forces. The 'Fauji' culture doesn't divide the country into north, south, east or west," adds Nikhil, urging his audiences to watch SPY in their chosen language.
SPY also stars Iswarya Menon, Abhinav Gomatam, Makarand Deshpande and others with Rana Daggubati coming on board to play a cameo. The film has been directed by Garry B.H, the noted editor who has worked on Telugu films like HIT: The Second Case, Goodachari and Evaru.