Telugu superstar Allu Arjun has a huge fan base in Kerala, with most of his dubbed movies setting the cash registers ringing at the box office. For the Malayali audience, Allu speaks in the mellow yet powerful voice of noted filmmaker Jis Joy. Interestingly, Jis Joy is probably the only dubbing artist in Kerala who has garnered fans and admirers without acting in a movie. Jis has dubbed for Allu Arjun in the recent movie ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ too. He has been receiving great comments for his fabulous rendering of dialogues, without losing its soul, as ‘Pushpa’ continues to run in packed theatres. In a candid chat, Jis reveals how he started dubbing for Allu Arjun.
What did Allu Arjun say after hearing ‘Pushpa’ speak Malayalam?
To be honest, I have not been able to speak to him yet. He had called me for the promotion of the movie. However, I couldn’t attend as the trimming works of my latest movie is progressing. I spoke to Allu’s manager; he said I did a good job.
Has Allu listened to your voice in the earlier movies?
After the first ten movies, he hasn’t said anything. He mentions my name in many interviews. He had said that he likes my work the best among the dubbed versions.
When did you feel that your voice suited Allu Arjun?
The credit for that goes to producer Khader Hassan, who introduced Allu Arjun to the Keralite audience. Khader strived hard to create a market for him here by pasting rows of posters and banners everywhere and arranging fans’ associations. It was he who discovered that my voice suits Allu Arjun. I had dubbed for actor Manikuttan in around one thousand episodes for the serial ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni’. Khader invited me to dub for Allu Arjun after being impressed by that work.
