When Dr Aswin Paul, a Junior Resident in Emergency Medicine at a private hospital in Kochi and a native of Sultan Bathery, arrived at the studio for dubbing in 2022, he was clueless about the character for which he was supposed to lend his voice. The tip-off for the open audition came from his friend Arjun, the voice artist for Rishabh Shetty in the Malayalam version of the film 'Kantara.'

Finally, he was overcome with a mix of nervousness and thrill, when he was told to dub for the character 'Spider' Socorro in James Cameroon's 'Avatar' sequel, 'The Way of Water'. Aswin became the natural choice when Avatar-3 was released.

"There were several retakes and corrections as I was dubbing for the first time," he told Onmanorama. "There was this excitement of working for one of the biggest Hollywood franchises, directed by none other than James Cameron.

The toughest part was to dub in Na'vi, a language developed by the makers of the movie for the world of Pandora. "Besides, emulating the expressions while conducting action sequences, for example, while swimming and getting out of water, were extremely difficult," he said.

"The other characters in the films were given the Malayalam voices by established artists like Mahesh Kunjumon, who dubbed for Jake Sully and Midhuna. It was a great chance to rub shoulders with such talented artists," he said and added that he treasured so many combination scenes with those senior artists.

While dubbing as a novice for Avatar-2, the biggest challenge was maintaining the distance to capture the correct voice, expressions, and special sounds, avoiding the air blow on the microphone. "For making certain sounds, I had to stand at a certain angle, for example, there is a scene where the character takes deep breaths after emerging from the water. I had to make such adjustments as there would be two to three mikes while recording the sounds. I learned it after several retakes and corrections. But, with Avatar-3, it was easier for me," he said. "The dubbing was done at AUO2 Studio in Kochi and Rishikesh was the sound engineer. The movie is well-received as it is 3D and appeals to kids as well, and is a hit with the family audience," he added.

To perfect the dialogues of the character, one has to act out the scenes effectively, delivering voice modulations and expressions. While dubbing for Avatar-2, he was an MBBS student and had to go to the studio from the hostel late at night for dubbing, as senior artists would be using the studio during the day. "So, I came from the studio in the morning and went to the class straight away. However, my friends, doctors and teachers were supportive and that helped me a lot in my endeavour," he reminisced.

A doctor at Welcare Hospital in Kochi, he is fortunate enough to have a working environment conducive to indulging in such creative activities. "I have scheduled my duty in such a way that I get some time to explore extra curricular activities. I take 24 hours' duty so that I get two days' off on a trot. It's tough working 24 hours at a stretch. But I have to, since I am deeply interested in it," he said.

Comedy fantasy is Aswin's favourite genre and a chance to dub for Avatar franchise was a shot in the arm. "The storyline was the most striking factor, it was a thrilling experience to watch an international movie before its release and dub for it," he said.

Aswin has made a short film titled, 'Timeless' which has won several awards. He prefers writing over direction and has already embarked on a project. "But, I shall never quit my profession as a doctor and am planning to move on with my movie dreams by the side," insists Aswin.