Voice(ing) his secrets: Ashwin Mushran

“Voice is the most integral part of being an actor,” says 37-year-old theatre and big screen actor Ashwin Mushran matter-of-factly. A graduate of the Drama Studio in London that boasts of famous alumni of Academy Award winners like Forest Whitaker, Mushran today is one of the most sought after actors on stage — especially in plays that require one actor to play multiple roles. And as Mushran candidly admits, his biggest asset is his voice that has seen him doing voice-overs for several commercials in the industry, apart from Hindi dubbings of Hollywood blockbusters.

Mushran insists, “Whatever an actor might think to be priceless — good looks, a six pack stomach, the voice is an indispensable aspect of a good actor.” Mushran says that while voice modulation was an essential aspect of the academics at the Drama Studio, it was something that he also picked up working on the stage and the advertising industry.
His command over his voice is one of the reasons that acclaimed playwright Anuvab Pal made him the first choice to play the lead in his recent play 1888-Dial India. Mushran says, “Many years ago, Anuvab had told me he was making a big play and he wanted me to play five characters in it. It probably stems from the fact that however many characters I play, I can easily switch on and off from one character to another.”

So from a traditional Indian father to a flamboyant accent trainer from US, to a depressed American suicidal to several other personas, Mushran resorts to classic disguises with costumes, elaborate hair pieces, heavy make-up and of course, his voice.

There are slip-ups too on the stage given the time constraint — 30 seconds to dress up a new personality. Mushran is candid, "Once I was caught running across the stage when the lights came on. I just pretended, I was part of that scene and carried on like nothing has happened.”