May 9, 2023
Krithika Nelson, Kundavai & Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan
As part of The Other Banana's efforts to bring in more technicians to the forefront, we have a special episode with a special guest now that Ponniyin Selvan Part 2 is out and the saga is complete. An effort that's achieved great success and more importantly, provided immense satisfaction and joy to experience on screen. Starring Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sarath Kumar, Parthiban, Prakash Raj, Rahman and Sobhita among others, the film has music by AR Rahman, cinematography by Ravi Varman, editing by Sreekar Prasad and art direction by Thota Tharani.
In this episode, we have the multi hyphenate Krithika Nelson - musician, lyricist, creative producer and director, dubbin artist, associate director, and more. She dubbed for Trisha's Kundavai in the Ponniyin Selvan films, wrote the lyrics of Sol in Part 1 and was also an associate director to Mani Ratnam. She also wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack of the recent film Nitham Oru Vaanam.
We spoke to Krithika about her dubbing career, the skill and techniques that it involves, what happens inside and outside the recording studio, and her experience as a dubbing artist for the past several years. We also talk about the production of Ponniyin Selvan films, her work as an associate director to Mani Ratnam, the films' grand scale and what it took to make these two films with the biggest of actors and technicians. Krithika shared with us some great anecdotes from the time of filming, what she looks for in an actor's performance when she dubs for them, how dubbing can be different with different directors. And of course, we also talk about Trisha!
Earlier, when Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 released, we had done an episode with sound engineer Anand Krishnamoorthi on his work in the film and also the job of sound engineers, designers and mixers in general. You can check it out here.
Participants:
Krithika Nelson
Aditya
Anantha
Here's Krithika Nelson's latest independent single Nee Mattum. She wrote the lyrics, composed and sang the song in addition to directing the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ivuwuHEWE
Aditya's review of Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 and Ponniyin Selvan Part 2.
Intro audio from JFW Awards 2023, a recreation of PS 1 scene between Nandini and Kundavai on stage by their respective dubbing artists Deepa Venkat and Krithika Nelson.