Hyderabad: Having become popular with celebrities and youngsters alike, Dubsmash has become the new way to audition for movie roles. Vandana Agarwal, co-owner of Hyderabad-based Josh Media and Entertainment, a talent management company, says, “If a video is really good and the aspiring artiste has done a superb job, we see if he or she can be moulded for a particular role. Auditioning people via Dubsmash is a new practice that we have taken up.”
And Tollywood is quite taken by Dubsmash. Mahesh Babu, who generally tweets only about his work, put up his son Gautam’s debut Dubsmash video on the occasion of his father Krishna’s birthday on Sunday.
Gautam, who had made his debut as a child actor in 1-Nenokkadine, last year, has taken the Dubsmash craze to a new level with his father’s dialogue from Pokiri: “Evadu kodithe dimma thirigi mind block avuddo vade Pandugadu”.
Youngistaan director Syed Ahmed Afzal feels that the app is a good tool for actors to enhance their pronunciation skills. “If you get the lip sync right in various languages, it’s a big plus. But it can’t be an acting audition per se, since you can’t judge that person’s voice in the video, which is very important,” Afzal says.
With celebs like Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh, Trisha and many more being Dubsmash enthusiasts, it’s no wonder that their fans have taken it up. But casting directors and filmmakers are firm to point out that it could just be a stepping stone towards an audition, not an audition itself.
Director Nandini Reddy says, “I don’t think serious actors would use this to impress directors. It’s not a professional tool.”
National Award winning director Praveen Sattaru agrees. “It’s taking innovation to the next level. But it’s not genuine. It’s not your voice, just lip sync.”
Mumbai-based casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who is known for his unconventional auditioning methods, also gives Dubsmash a huge thumbs down. “That’s not the right way to audition for a role. It’s just entertainment, but they think it’s an acting audition. It’s the most stupid way to approach casting directors or directors,” Mukesh says.
Dialogues from Jab We Met, Queen etc. and South superstars like Rajinikanth and Balakrishna are the favourites for Dubsmash enthusiasts.
Even though many in the industry may not have embraced it with open arms, Tanveer Bookwala, CCO at Balaji Motion Pictures, thinks it’s a good idea that could be explored further. “If we find an excellent video, then we would absolutely approach that artiste,” Tanveer says.
