The Hindi version of the film Trolls World Tour features singer Neeti Mohan lending her voice to the lead character. She shares that translation is more than just words, it’s about maintaining their intent, style, tone and context. By Ayushi Sharma
While the year has trolled each one of us in style, saving the best for the last, the animated musical comedy Trolls World Tour takes over the theatres. The film features singer Neeti Mohan lending her voice to the lead character — Poppy. With Anna Kendrick regaling the audience in the English version of the film, Neeti blows us all away with three songs in the Hindi version of it: Koi Geet Gao, Iss Pal Ko Jio and Trolls Toh Karenge Fun. Excerpts:
What fascinated you to say yes to the film?
Singing for animated films, for characters which are trying to tell a story and spread positivity fascinates me the most, especially when it’s musical character. That was the main reason why I said yes to the project.
How was your dubbing experience? Was it challenging to translate songs and dialogues to another language?
Of course, yes! It was definitely challenging. When you are trying to translate something from English to Hindi or any other language for that matter, you don’t want to lose out on the poetry or the real essence of it. That’s why we wanted to make sure that it sounds amazing and the meaning stays the same. We did our best to not lose the meaning of the lyrics in translation. Translation is more than just the words, it’s about context, tone and aim. It’s the process of adapting a particular text from one language to another, while maintaining its intent, style, tone and context. A good translation will evoke the same emotions in the target language as it does in the source language. We have to make sure that our tone is suiting the character, the energy level is jumpy, so we have to match that as well. And if the character is in a romantic state, then we have to match that kind of vibe too. These are some of the challenges we usually face. However, I feel the challenges were fun because I love to deliver the vocals as per the visual requirements.
You sang three songs for the film, each quite different from each other. How did you strike a balance between them and the genres?
Yes, I sang three different songs, one of which was the title track, all the them quite different from each other. But I have always loved singing in various genres. This wasn’t the first time that I did it. I have done it before, so it comes naturally to me. I believe that if you feel the lyrics and the melody, you can easily mould in any genre.
You said that your character Poppy sends across the message that every girl is a queen and a ‘go-getter.’ Could you give us a deep insight into the character?
Yes, Poppy sends across the message that every girl is a queen. Poppy is a free-spirited soul who is a ‘go-getter. The character inspires its audience to a great extent, which is why getting the chance to be ‘Poppy Mohan’ was one of the best things of all time if you ask me. With music being such an integral part of the narrative, a film like this ranks among my most-favorite. I feel that poppy is someone who wants to change the world and is very positive about it. She is an icon of music. She wants to tell every child and every girl that you can make it happen. She conveys a message that you are not alone. I feel like I am myself so much similar to Poppy.
How do you think music tours will see a change now that the pandemic and social distancing norms are here to stay...
Yes, pandemic has changed the face of live concerts, weddings and parties or any gatherings. It is going to be here for a while unless and until we find the cure. That’s going to take a lot of time, so yes, we have resorted to virtual concerts as of now. I haven’t performed a live gig in front of the audience as of now but I have been doing Insta Lives and some virtual gigs... I think because of social media, it’s quite helpful to stay in touch with fans, connect to a larger audience who can watch your work online. Social media is a great way for individuals and communities to stay connected even while physically separated. For now, it’s safe that way.