AB, Preity and Arjun dub for their first English film

During the last one month Rituparno Ghosh has been in and out of Mumbai, dubbing for his first English-language film "The Last Lear". It's been a gruelling month of travel for the award-winning director, as he had to fly down separately for each of the actors.

Says Rituparno: "I first got Divya (Dutta) and then Shefali (Shetty) to do their dubbing. They've very important roles in the film and Divya specially had a tough dubbing schedule as she has assumed an accent for her character."

Then it was Preity Zinta's turn.

He adds: "She was busy with several things. I had to wait patiently for her. But now that she has done her dubbing she has added so much to her performance in the dialogue. As for Amitda (Amitabh Bachchan) he's the last to dub because he was shooting in Hyderabad.

"It's a first for all of them since they've never done an English-language film before. They've all surprised and delighted me," says the director who's flown between Kolkata and Mumbai so many times during the last one month that the airline has decided to allot him two frequent-flyer passes.

He laughs: "But it has been worth it. People tell me I should've shot in sync sound for 'The Last Lear'. But actors like Arjun (Rampal) and Divya add so much to the performance through their voice. As for Amit-da his dialogue delivery as he does long Shakespearean passages in the dubbing provides a textbook on aural emoting."

Indo-Asian News Service