How Bollywood is using local dialects to achieve cinematic realism

Weary after a taxing shift as a voice-over artist, Sunita Sharma walks into a suburban Mumbai mall one evening for an interview. The Haryana-born was a key back room player as the accent coach to actors in the monstrous hits Dangal (2016) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), both films in which getting the Haryanvi dialect right was critical.

The cast of Dangal, especially perfectionist Aamir Khan, was so intent on getting the accent right that they would look at Sharma for approval after every shot. “Aamirji is such a big star, but on the sets he would seek me out like a child in need of a mother’s appreciation,” says Sharma, who not only held workshops for three months in Mumbai before shooting commenced, but also worked closely with the actors through the making of the film.

She’s not the only one, and Dangal and Tanu Weds Manu Returns not the only films to go the extra mile for authenticity. Bollywood, of late, has been consistently churning out movies inspired by real life events, in which the plot revolves less around larger-than-life heroes and more around the common man. In tune with that, the backdrop has changed from exotic international locales to dusty villages in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. This transition is further reinforced by regional dialects.

“You can't set a movie in Bundelkhand and write the dialogues in Hindustani. The characters need to speak the local language to be convincing,” says Tigmanshu Dhulia, director of the award-winning movie Paan Singh Tomar (2012), based on the life of a national athlete's transformation into one of Chambal’s most dreaded dacoits. The cast speaks Bundelkhandi with a smattering of khari boli, the predominant dialect of Hindi. “In that region, the dialect changes every 200km,” says Dhulia. He became familiar with the language while writing dialogues for Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen (1994), rooted in the same milieu.

When in Rome...

Accent trainers come into the picture to add to a film's credibility. Vikas Kumar, who came to Mumbai from Bihar 15 years ago to be an actor, is now comfortably settled in the role of a dialect, voice and accent coach for Bollywood, TV and news media. His first major assignment was Abhishek Chaubey’s 2010 film Ishqiya, starring Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah. Since Khalujaan (Shah) and Babban (Warsi) play Bhopali crooks, he helped them with the dialect. “I began with a 12-day workshop with Vidya Balan, whose dialogues, though predominantly Hindustani, also featured bits of Bhojpuri. During the workshop, I would conjure up situations from the scenes depicted in the film to familiarise her with the dialect and the character,” says Kumar. “The idea was to keep the dialogue and accent such that it’s universally understood. The script was essentially in Hindi with a sprinkling of words from the region.” He even wrote a couple of scenes and added a few dialogues and phrases because Chaubey had grown to trust him.

“Bhopali Hindi is different from the Hindi we generally speak. For instance, if we have to ask someone to leave, we will say Yahan se chale jao. In Bhopal, people will say Yahan se rawangi daal do,” says Kumar to illustrate the nuance. He cites another example, which was lapped up by the audience. “In Bhopal, people don’t say acidity, they say ‘STD’ with emphasis on ‘A’ preceding the S. So it’s ‘aSTD’.” It features in the scene where Warsi avoids going out with Shah to steal a car so that he can spend time with Balan.

“Of course, it also depends on how receptive the director is about my suggestions. Ishqiya was memorable also because of my chemistry with Abhishek,” he says.

Dhulia, who admits that employing Bundelkhandi in Paan Singh Tomar was a huge gamble, had a different approach for his cast, which included Irrfan Khan playing the eponymous character. “They have a strong theatre background and I gave them the freedom to work on their characters and the dialect. A couple of assistants were familiar with the language, but most actors picked up the flavour and nuance on their own from their interactions with the locals. There was no dialect workshop because the budget had to be cut due to recession.”

Teacher talk

For language coaches, collaborating with actors can be a tricky affair. “You have to be cautious, especially when you are dealing with a person of Naseer’s stature. But on the occasions I intervened because the Bhopali flavour wasn’t evident, he took it sportingly,” says Kumar. He has since worked with Aditya Roy Kapur for Fitoor (2016) in which the latter plays a Kashmiri. In Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), he helped Kalki Koechlin neutralise her foreign accent. Earlier, he had given language-training sessions to Nargis Fakhri and Jacqueline Fernandez, who had to learn Hindi from scratch. “There have been instances when stars got uncomfortable because they felt I am also teaching them to act,” says the 39-year-old actor, who played the title role in the film Prithipal Singh...a story (2015), a biopic on the celebrated hockey player.

Sharma, however, got no such vibes during Dangal and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, which was her first Hindi film as an accent trainer. “I developed an excellent rapport with Kangana Ranaut. When you teach someone how to speak a language and appear confident and convincing, it is impossible not to deliver the lines without betraying emotions. After all, we are dealing with characters drawn from a geography where women speak in distinct ways. The manner of speech is inextricably linked with the range of feelings that a scene demands,” says the soft-spoken Sharma, who teamed up with the tomboy Haryanvi-essaying star a couple of months prior to shooting and then closely monitored her performance on the sets. Sharma’s work in Tanu Weds Manu Returns got her Dangal. She joined the Dangal team a tad late — she was initially hired as the second language coach and later became the sole trainer. She had to deal with virtually the entire cast of about 20 people. “There are some artistes who can easily pick up a language, and there are others who require more attention. I began with Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra, who play Aamir’s grown-up daughters. Aamirji joined us around the time Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar, the younger daughters, came in,” she says. “I used to visit Sakshiji at home because her casting was finalised at the very end and we didn’t have much time, says Sharma. During the filming, she stayed in the same hotel in Haryana as the cast. On the sets, Khan used to rehearse diligently before a scene, with Sharma paying close attention to every word for authenticity. The same discipline was followed for the others. That she had done a great job dawned when she was flooded with compliments from friends across the country, including far-flung Manipur.

Scant recognition

While, Dangal has broken all box office records, mopping up well over Rs350 crore and creating a new benchmark for Bollywood, Sharma’s remuneration from the film has remained the same as the amount stipulated in her contract. Her steady source of income comes from television and advertising where she is a sought-after dubbing artiste. Sharma earns about Rs1 lakh per month from these assignments.

Dubbing artists and accent trainers do not get the remuneration they deserve, rues Sharma. “My reputation has been built on the work I have done over the years,” says the 43-year-old Punjabi, born and raised in Haryana’s Kurukshetra. “Since my Punjabi is good, I began working with Zee’s regional channel where many Hindi serials were dubbed in Punjabi,” says the mother of two children. “My children have grown up in Balaji Studios where I dubbed for many their serials starting with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kasautii Zindagi Kay and for Sakshiji in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii,” she says.

Vikas Kumar has founded a company called Strictly Speaking. “In the last 12 years, we have worked with actors, commentators, TV presenters, news anchors and reporters,” he says. His core team comprises his wife Raavi Sehgal, actor Prabhat Raghunandan and dialect expert Varad Bhatnagar. Strictly Speaking dabbles in several languages such as Bhopali, Bhojpuri, British English, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Bundelkhandi, Konkani, Rajasthani, Marathi, Magadhi, Tamil and Bengali, focusing mostly on dialects and accent.

Unfortunately, there is little acknowledgement from stars who benefit from the expertise of the likes of Kumar and Sharma. In a refreshing change, Sakshi Tanwar was effusive in her praise for Sharma. “Sunitaji was so good that I got the hang of the language in two-three days. She taught me the basics and helped me with the nuances,” says the actor. That's one compliment Sharma holds close to her heart.

Hindi films with strong regional accents

1. Bandit Queen
2. Lagaan
3. Bajirao Mastani
4. Paan Singh Tomar
5. Piku
6. Udta Punjab
7. Dum Laga Ke Haisha
8. Manjhi-The Mountain Man
9. GulaAb Gang