Hindi actors learn Tamil for good performance in 'Leelai'

Chennai, May 24 (IANS) Two Mumbai based actors, who don't want their lines to be dubbed, are trying to master Tamil to add value to their performance in the Tamil film 'Leelai'.

Shiv Pandit, a radio jockey, and Mansi Parekh, a TV star, have been cast as the lead pair in V. Oscar Ravichandran's 'Leelai'. Usually Hindi speaking stars are asked by directors to mutter 'one-two-three-four-five' with brief pauses at shooting locales to cut costs and save time. Later, dubbing artistes synchronise the lines written to suit the lip movements of the performers. But Shiv and Mansi are determined to speak their won lines.

'In a way, 'Leelai' is a symbol of modern times as a Mumbaiite, Gujaratis and Tamils are collaborating to make it. Like modern day multiplexes uniting films of various genres under a single roof, this film has brought us together for a project in a language hitherto unknown to us,' said Shiv Pandit.

Echoing the same, Mansi, who shot to fame with the TV series 'India Calling' and currently features in the soap 'Remote Control', said: 'To take the analogy further, like dubbed movies from different languages help audiences to comprehend unknown tongues, we too want to emote properly by understanding what we utter because that would add value to our performances.'

Shiv, a R. Madhavan look alike, was spotted by Ravichandran in a soft drink TV commercial, said then publicist of the film.

Three projects of Oscar Films said to have collectively cost over Rs.2.5 billion including Kamal Haasan starrer 'Dasavatharam', touted as the costliest Indian film to date.