Meet the top 10 Voice Over Artists in India
By Sanjay Maurya
It is a universal truth that the human voice is better than any other instrument when it comes to flattering or loving someone. Voices can create empathy and understanding; They express feelings. No newspaper or video can ever match the ability of a simple human voice to create an emotional connection and that is why industries mostly rely on voice over artists.
Voice over artists has the power to sell a comb to a bald person with a 15-second ad break. They can also engage you in boring movies sometimes, and as we all know from Doraemon to Ninja Hattori everything we watched in Childhood is dubbed by Voice artists.
Who is Voice Over Artists?
Voice-over is a production technique where an off-camera actor or person records dialogue for commercial use during a film, TV show, documentary, announcement, or post-production process. Productions use voice-over narration to provide additional context to scenes or as a form of guided narration.
There are various ways in which Voice artists can work including Animation, Commercials, Narration, Audio Books, Video Games/Interactive, E-Learning, Corporate, Trailers, Promo, Announcing, and more.
India’s top 10 voice over artists
01 – Piyush Pandey
- Born: 1955 (age 67 years), Jaipur
- Spouse: Nita Pandey
- Siblings: Prasoon Pandey, Ila Arun, Rama Pandey, Tripti Pandey
- Education: the University of Delhi, St Stephen’s College, St. Xavier’s School
- Awards: Clio Award for Lifetime Achievement, Padma Shri
Piyush Pandey is an advertising professional and the Chief Creative Officer Worldwide (2019) and Executive Chairman India of Ogilvy (agency). He received the Padma Shri award (2016). One of the top voiceover performers in Indian advertising is Piyush Pandey. He has given his voice to SBI (‘Taaki Rishton Ke Beech Dooriyan Na Aayein’), Fevicol (‘Lagao Lagao, Aur Zor Lagao’), and Asian Paints (‘Har Ghar Kuch Kheta Hai’)
Advertising campaigns and contributions
- Abki Baar Modi sarkar – BJP 2014 election campaign, with the famous slogan “achche din aane wale hain”
- Polio ad campaign with Amitabh Bachchan
- Fevicol ad campaigns – Fevicol Bus, Fevicol Fish, fevicol sofa
- Cadbury Dairy Milk ad campaigns like “kuch Khaas Hai”
- Asian Paints ad campaigns like “Har Ghar Kuch kehta Hai”
- Campaigns for the Indian tourism
- Bell Bajao ad campaign
- Anti-smoking campaign for the Cancer Patients Association
- Rath Vanaspati
- Fortune Oil
- Google – Reunion
- The Hindu
- Gujarat Tourism campaigns
02 – Richa Nigam
Richa Nigam, the voice behind Surf Excel’s ‘Daag Achhe Hain’ campaign, is an in-demand artist in the business. Having spent nearly a decade as a freelance voice-over artist, her portfolio includes a range of commercials for popular brands including Tata Sky, Brooke Bond, Tata Indicom, Pillsbury, Nutrilite Amway, Domino’s, and Coca-Cola among others. Richa Nigam has made us realize that not every voice has to be smooth like honey. Husky voices too have a place in the world of Voice over.
03 – Piyush Mishra
- Born: 13 January 1963 (age 59 years), Gwalior
- Spouse: Priya Narayanan (m. 1995)
- Children: Jai Mishra, Josh Mishra
- Parents: Pratap Kumar Sharma, Taradevi Mishra
- Nominations: Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actor, MORE
Piyush Mishra is an Indian actor, music director, singer, voice artist, lyricist, screenwriter. Mishra was brought up in Gwalior and graduated from the National School of Drama in Delhi in 1986. He has sung songs in films like Maqbool, Gulal, and Gangs of Wasseypur.
Apart from acting and singing, he is also known for his voice-over. He has lent his voice to one of the oldest and most popular brands in India Parle Ji. where he says, “Roko Matt, Toko Matt”. The popular sentence that makes a place in our hearts “Bachpan se bada koi school nahi. Curiosity se bada koi teacher nahi, Aao banaye kal ke genius” also has the voice of Piyush Mishra.
04 – Raghubir Yadav
- Born: 25 June 1957 (age 65 years), Jabalpur
- Spouse: Poornima Yadav (m. 1986)
- Children: Achal Yadav
- Albums: Newton (film), Blackboard Vs Whiteboard, Peepli Live, MORE
- Alma mater: National School of Drama
One of the many skills that Raghubir Yadav possesses is voice acting. You might be familiar with him from the movie Lagaan. Raghubir’s portfolio includes voice over for Parle, Pepsi, Maggie Mania, Britannia, and Vim. Additionally, he has worked for numerous other brands, including Vagh Bakri Chai, Kotak Mahindra, Midday, and Coke. Raghubir Yadav, one of India’s best voice artists, is well-known all over the country. He composed the song “Umar ghumar ke” for a Pepsi commercial; it featured Sachin Tendulkar and remains one of India’s most well-known commercial songs.
05 – Meghana Erande
- Born: 24 April 1981 (age 41 years), Mumbai
- Spouse: Vikram Joshi (m. 2010)
- Full name: Meghna Sudhir Erande
- Other names: Meghana Sudhir Erande; Meghna Vikram Joshi
Meghna Sudhir Erande is an Indian actress and voice artist who can speak English, Hindi, and Marathi. She has worked with animation and has also done voice work in Hindi and Marathi for foreign content. She is a part of the industry since 1989. She has provided voiceovers for numerous well-known movies, including Barbie, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Daredevil, Batman, and many more. She has dubbed the voice of famous cartoon characters such as Noddy, Ninja Hattori, Pokemon, and The Powerpuff Girls.
06 – Shammi Narang
- Born: 25 November 1956 Delhi
- Nationality: Indian
- Known for: News Presenter and Voice of Delhi Metro
“Agla station Rajeev Chowk hai. Kripya saavdhaani se utare…” There would be hardly any person traveling in the metro who is not familiar with this voice. Wherever there is metro service in India, the voice of the announcement is Shammi Narang.
Shammi Narang is a renowned voice-over artist, Delhi-based businessman, and former Indian news presenter who used to read news on Doordarshan during the 1970s – 80s. He was a part of the Hindi division of Voice of America and is known for being the voice of the Delhi metro services.
07 – Atul Kapoor
- Born: 28 December 1966 (age 55 years), Mumbai
- Spouse: Pratibha Tripathi Kapoor (m. 1996)
- Movies: Mahayoddha Rama
- Other names: Atul Kapur
Atul Kapoor is a dubbing artist. Atul Kapoor is proficient in English, Hindi, languages. Most of his work as a voice actor is to dub foreign films in Hindi. Atul started this work in 2002, but in 2003, Atul got a big opportunity in this profession from Sony TV. Atul Kapoor has also lent his voice to Discovery and National Geographic’s documentary films. Although he has been giving his voice in the Indian television reality show Bigg Boss since the first season of 2006.
08 – Harish Bhimani
- Born: 15 February 1956 (age 66 years), Mumbai
- Awards: National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Narration / Voice Over
- Education: Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, JBIMS, HANSRAJ MORARJI PUBLIC SCHOOL
Harish Bhimani (born 15 February) is a voiceover artiste and anchor. He is the voice of Samay, the narrator of the TV series Mahabharat. Apart from being a voice over artist, he is also an author, documentary, and corporate filmmaker and anchor. You will not be surprised to know that his voice is considered one of the best background voices in the country. Harish was conferred with the coveted (63rd) National Award for Voiceovers/Narration 2015. He has done more than 22 thousand recordings in his career.
09 – Ninad Kamat
- Born: 19 August Mumbai
- Occupation: actor, Playback singer, Voiceover artist.
- Years active: 1994–present
Ninad Kamat is an Indian Bollywood actor who acted in many films and is also a voice actor who has been dubbing foreign content since the 1990s. Toy Story 4, Toy Story 2, Toy Story, and Toy Story 3, he voiced Woody in these films, the original actor is Tom Hanks. He worked as a voice artist for Men in Black, Men in Black II, XXX, The Phantom, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avengers Infinity War, Thor: Love and Thunder.
10 – Sonal Kaushal
- Born: 21 June 1991 (age 31 years)
- Spouse: Utkarsh Bali (m. 2020)
- Other names: The Motor Mouth
Sonal Kaushal is a well-known voice Artist in India’s entertainment Industry. Sonal Kaushal has given her voice to Doraemon, Chota Bheem, and many other popular Characters. The Motor Mouth is the name of a YouTube channel run by Sonal Kaushal. She works primarily on Kids Show. Sonal Kaushal began her profession when she was just 8 years old. Doraemon was her first project when she began dubbing in 2005. Sonal Kaushal has a $1–$5 million net worth.
FAQ
01. Who are the top 10 voice over artists in India?
The top 10 voice over artists in India are as follows: –
- Piyush Pandey
- Richa Nigam
- Piyush Mishra
- Raghubir Yadav
- Meghana Erande
- Shammi Narang
- Atul Kapoor
- Harish Bhimani
- Ninad Kamat
- Sonal Kaushal
02. Who are the top 10 voice over artists in the world?
The top 10 voice over artists in the world are as follows: –
- Mel Blanc
- Don LaFontaine
- Nancy Cartwright
- Billy West
- Tara Strong
- Keith Todd
- James Earl Jones
- Seth MacFarlane
- David Attenborough
- Jim Cummings
03. What do voice-over actors do?
Voiceover is a type of performance in which only the voice is used to represent characters or provide narration. There are various ways in which Voice artists can work including Animation, Commercial, Narration, Audio Books, Video Games/Interactive, E-Learning, Corporate, Trailers, Promo, Announcing, and more.
04. What is the best software for voice editing?
The best software for voice editing is as follows: –
- Adobe Audition
- GarageBand
- Logic Pro X
- Ableton Live
- Descript
- Audacity
- Studio One
- FL Studio
- Bandlab
- LMMS
05. Which are the top 10 advertising companies and agencies in India?
The top 10 advertising companies and agencies in India are as follows: –
- DDB Mudra Group
- Dentsu Aegis Network
- FCB Ulka Advertising Pvt. Ltd.
- Group M Media India Pvt. Ltd.
- Havas World Wide India Pvt. Ltd.
- Madison Communication Pvt. Ltd.
- McCann Erickson India Pvt. Ltd.
- Mullen Lowe Lintas Group
- Ogilvy & Mather Pvt. Ltd.
- Publicis Communicaions India Ltd.
06 How much do voice Artists get paid in India?
Voice Over Artist’s salary in India ranges between INR 0.7 Lakhs to INR 7.0 Lakhs with an average annual salary of INR 3.5 Lakhs depending upon the kind and amount of work they take up.
07. Who is the person behind Bigg Boss voice?
Atul Kapoor is the voice behind Bigg Boss.
08. Who is the voice in the railway announcement?
Yatrigan kripya dhyan dijiye,Gaadi sankhya… The name behind this voice is Sarla Chowdhary. Even though today she is not on the post of announcer in Railways, but her voice is still working.
09. Who are the Popular Voiceover Artists in Indian Cartoons industry?
The Popular Voiceover Artists in Indian Cartoons industry are as follows: –
01. Sonal Kaushal – Doraemon and Chota Bheem
02. Simraan Kaur – Doraemon’s Nobita
03. Parul Bhatnagar – Shizuka in Doraemon, Korosuke in Kiteretsu, Kazama, Himavari & Yoshinaga in Shin-chan, and many others.
04. Saurav Chakraborty – Famous for Motu Patlu, Shaun The Sheep, and Oggy and Cockroaches.
05. Akanksha Sharma – Akanksha Sharma is the voice behind the most popular cartoon character Shinchan Nohara.
06. Chetan Shashital – Famous for Baloo the Bear from Talespin, The Jungle Book 2, and Genie from Disney’s Aladdin.
