"Indian politics has been absorbing tremors of blind love of the ruler for his and/or her offspring - which is one of the mainstays of Mahabharata too!"

HARISH BHIMANI tells JYOTHI VENKATESH in this second and concluding part of the exclusive and exhaustive email interview that  with Lata Mangeshkar going on record saying, “The presentation of my shows was always of high standard thanks to the master of ceremonies, Harish Bhmani, to whom I am very grateful”, he felt that the career Oscar went to yours truly!

 Why do you think Mahabharat is so popular even after 32 years of its first telecast?

The seemingly unending repeat value of B R Chopra & Mahabharat is because of the inherent value of the epic’s theme, its immaculate casting and its layered writing. Its writing makes me think of Shakespeare and Ghalib - you discover a new meaning each time you read it. The immense relevance of the ancient epic even after some 3500 years is a major reason too. Hasn’t Indian politics been absorbing tremors of blind love of the ruler for his and/or her offspring - which is one of the mainstays of Mahabharata? And recently, the epic’s relevance today was underscored further by an erstwhile prince defecting from GOP to the political party of people’s choice en masse – a la Yuyutsu (a Kaurav) changing sides at the battle ground Kurukshetra - much like (Ravan’s brother) Vibhishan from another epic Ramayan!

Can you elucidate?

And oh, if you want to compare, without malice, today’s politics with the Mahabharat times, here is a veritable list: Bhishma-Advani, Karna-Manmohan Singh, Arjun-Modi, Dhritarashtra- Sonia, Duryodhan-Rahul, Krishna-APJ Kalam. (Duh! The Univ of WhatsApp doesn't speak people’s language! No wonder, every morning, every newspaper of Bharat reminds us of Mahabharat! Why wouldn't people relate to it time and again?But, of course, the main reason of Mahabharat’s unfading popularity is that in it is woven every conceivable plot in the world. What Mahabharat does not have, probably, does not exist!

How did you prepare for your task as the Samay voice over? Were you given full freedom by the writer or director duo of the serial?

Once the onerous task of arriving at the tone, pace & pitch was accomplished, I was pretty much left to my own devices. Where emotions enshrined in the Samay script were concerned, it was strictly a switch-on switch-off method that I followed, given the number of recordings I used to hurtle through in a day! The Samay spoke contemporary Hindi, albeit with a definite slant towards Sanskrit. I had no problem with what was termed as Klisht Hindi (having recorded the entire Gita in Hindi), but I still had Mr Bhring Tupkari as supervisor, just in case. But to his credit, it was he who pointed out our common errors – Vaan not Baan (Arrow), Shaap not Shraap (curse), Sroat not Stroat (source) etc which was vital to the dialogue of Mahabharat. In a nutshell, Samay’s emotional extraction came from ‘living’ the narration by assuming the attitude that I (the all-pervading Samay) knew all the three tenses and was sharing with the earthlings the crux of my knowledge in simple words. The rest happened on its own.

There is no other celebrated voice over in India besides you, after Mahabharat. Why?

I think, the answer, quite simply, is that the bar was raised - and at the same time the norms have been lowered. Besides, perhaps, the quick fix attitude today doesn’t allow a voice talent to delve deep into a script. Where Indian languages are written in Roman script, precious little can be expected of either script or rendition! Although this coterie respects the nobility of superior language work, but “why bother when you get the same cheque for less trouble?” That’s how mediocrity prospers.

Which are the voice artists that you admire greatly in India?

 I have found that most of us VOs have allowed ourselves to be slotted into narrow confines of stylization - keeping versatility at bay. If Vinod Sharma excelled at over-the-top radio drama, Chetan Shashital is unbeatable at special voices. In the realm of short formats, I really like Ninad Kamat for the sophistication he injects in his renditions. I also admire Darpan Mehta for the various related spaces he ventures into and his proactive initiatives, apart from the sheer number recordings he tucks in. But my real hero was, and is, Richard Burton. You must listen to one of his earliest audio books – The War of the Worlds by H G Wells.

Is it true that when you started your career, you had to contend with a lot of jealousy but you stood your way with your ability to stand apart?

True. Put quite bluntly, it was an educated, a rather cultivated David against a somewhat uncouth Goliath. The stalwart Ameen Sayani was the only person who quietly fought for justice for me. I was accused of a ‘serious crime’ of ushering in multilingualism in voice recordings - which is a norm today. There was even an attempt to bring out a Voice Association Ordinance that a voice talent can record only in his mother tongue. They were not even aware of my Jaisalmer roots! But my clinching argument was, “Sure, I accept that diktat. But from tomorrow, let Pratap Sharma (a leading English voice talent) record only in Punjabi and Ameen Sayani in Kuchchhi! And hey presto! The case was rested! The worst was when clients would hand me running radio programmes on a platter. Now this was seen as an unpardonable professional stealing, whereas I never solicited or made a more economic offer to clients. Again, my defiant argument was, “So, do I wait until you either retire or pass on – whichever comes first?! I guess I’d kicked up a lot of dust with my relentless activity in all aspects of voice applications, leading to stifling politics, again, to which my gentle retort was, “Aap politics keejiye, mein recordings karta hoon!” E.O.M. (End Of Matter)

Which is the best compliment that you had bagged for your voice over as Samay of Mahbharat?

I have often heard from strangers and avid Mahabharat fans alike, “We would never have understood and appreciated nuances of the complex story of this epic but for you.” And from BR Chopra himself, “In all my career, I have never heard of audio track of spoken words (commentary) being bought by a music company!”Besides, two ultimate compliments: The sonorous voiced singer Bhupendra Singh said to me, “I am glad you didn’t take to singing!” And in the book On Stage with Lata by Mohan Deora & Rachna Shah, Lata Mangeshkar has been quoted as saying, “The presentation of my shows was always of high standard and that was also thanks to the master of ceremonies, Harish Bhmani, to whom I am very grateful.” And the career Oscar went to yours truly!

Do you think that today a newcomer can easily groom himself or herself as a voice artist like you set out to do?

Today, entrants to the voice world are welcomed with open arms. There are myriad opportunities and even more avenues to learn from. Hamlet might have pronounced today, “and let Technology be thy personal tutor!”

 Is it true that B.R TV was approached for the rights of the Samay audio when Mahabharat became so popular?

Yes, it’s absolutely true. Your research is all-encompassing!

Which are the five best ‘voice- overs’ that you have done over the years in ads?

1. Gwalior Suiting (English) “Sophistication thy name is Gwalior Suiting!” (including the script)
2. Onida TV (English & Hindi) “Neighbors’ envy, owner’s pride.”
3. Seabourne Cruise (English) for mainstream US TV.
4. BajajV (Scooters from INS Vikrant) with AR Rahman (Hindi/English).
5. Western Union (Urdu) radio commercial

Would you enumerate the five best recordings from the 25,000+?

1. Ganesh (Hindi) – a Times Music album
2. ‘The Voice of God’ (Sanskrit) a documentary by Bernd Lutzeler
3. ‘Samay’ of Mahabharat – (Hindi) 1st episode
4. ‘Siddhartha’ – (English) by Nobel Laureate Hermann Hesse, an audio

book

5. ‘Shodh’ – (Gujarati) by poet laureate Umashankar Joshi

And can’t resist listing this one –

6. Statue of Unity – (Hindi) Sardar Patel’s world’s tallest statue.

You have also been called the most travelled compere. What are the five best cities you’ve travelled to?

1. Wellington, New Zealand
2. Almora, Uttaranchal, India
3. Luxembourg, Europe / Vancouver, Canada
4. Cape Town, S. Africa / Trinidad & Tobago, W. Indies
5. New York, USA

 How would you evaluate your growth over the last 40 years in films and TV?

The TV industry has grown exponentially the film industry, at geometric proportions. As for the (micro) voice industry – when I began, it was just a forest dirt track – narrow and leading nowhere. Today, it’s now on the verge of being called an expressway. I do hope that I might have contributed to this growth in a small way. But most importantly, (spoken) voice industry is receiving serious attention.

How does it feel to be at the top for several years at a stretch?

Thank you for your kind words.

Is there any unfulfilled desire of yours till date?

I’ve never made a bucket list, but yes, I want to write more & take up photography again that I sorely miss. But this seemingly unending voice journey doesn’t allow a respite. But mind you, that is not a complaint!

Can you describe Harish Bhimani in one sentence? 

All that I can say today in just one sentence about me as you are asking is that Harish Bhimani likes to work hard at whatever he likes.