When Farah Khan Got Candid About ‘Cleverly’ Dubbing Deepika Padukone’s Shantipriya In Om Shanti Om Saying, Her Diction… Her Voice…” (Picture Credit: Instagram & IMDB)
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Farah Khan’s 2007 romantic fantasy Om Shanti Om is much loved by fans not only because of its interesting storyline and amazing soundtrack but also for giving Bollywood a superstar in the form of Deepika Padukone. In the 15 years since OSO was released, Deepika has proved her versatility and impressed millions with her on and off–screen work.
But did you know she was considerably bad when it came to her debut film? Well, we aren’t saying it, Farah did. In a past conversation, the filmmaker revealed why she cast Deepika in her reincarnation romantic musical drama and how the team cleverly used a dubbing artist to make her shine like the star she is.
During a past interaction with Film Companion, Farah Khan got candid about casting Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om despite her not-so-impressive screen test. Revealing why she cast the ‘Pathaan’ actress, the filmmaker told Anupama Chopra, “Because I just saw her in a silent movie. She’s so beautiful. She had an old world charm about her which I found none of the (other) girls had in them. I don’t think any of the girls have it now also. There was just a poise and a… She’s Hemaji. That’s why ‘Dreamy Girl’ came also. That was (added) later – after I cast her.”
Adding that she then based Deepika Padukone’s Shantipriya around Hema Malini, Farah Khan continued, “There was a lot of dignity in her beauty. She also looked a lot older, maybe than she was – she was may be 20-21 when we started shooting but she didn’t look like a college giddy headed. She looked like a lady, so that was nice. She also had a little South Indian-ness about her. But her diction…. And her voice…”
Regarding having to ‘cleverly’ dub her parts for the above reasons, Khan continued, “We got her dubbed very cleverly… very cleverly. Selective dubbing and also (we) got somebody who was not dubbing for everybody else. I did an actually screen test for all the dubbing artists. And somebody who looked a little raw, so it was not suddenly polished.”
Watch Farah Khan talk about Deepika Padukone’s audition, casting her in Om Shanti Om and her shortcoming in making her debut film here:
Did you know the voice you heard in Om Shanti Om was not Deepika Padukone’s?
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