article on sachin sharma

YOU may have swooned as Rakshak Sahni (Kavya) gazed intently into Natassha's (Anjali) eyes and confessed his undying love on Star Plus's romance saga Kkavyanjali. Except that it wasn't really him. Sahni's dialogues are actually dubbed by Sachin Sharma, who plays the docile Krishna on Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki.

After the initial four episodes, the bigwigs at Balaji felt that Sahni's diction was inappropriate for the emotionally tender role. ''He was concentrating more on his acting and looks and not so much on the feelings in the voice,'' says Nivedita Basu, creative head for the serial.

Sahni admits that vocally, Sharma's a better Kavya than him. Incidentally, the Kahani... star was pinched from Sahara News, where he used to be a newsreader. Although the two have never met, Sharma says, ''together Rakshak and I make the perfect Kavya.'' Sahni attributes his tonal shortcomings to a hectic shooting schedule. ''I'm acting on the sets endlessly, so I can't give dubbing my hundred per cent. Sachin's made my job easier.'' Unfortunately even Sharma's passionate rendition has not been able to guarantee the serial's fate.

Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi's lead actor Panchi Bora is less ecstatic about having a helping voice. The Assamese actor's lines are dubbed by artist Niti Mathur. But Bora's determined to recite her own lines on the serial soon. ''I miss hearing myself speak on screen,'' she sighs, admitting that her pronunciation tends to go awry at times. Also Ananya's character of a radio jockey calls for experienced modulation. ''Whenever I can, I practice my lines and ask friends to correct my diction. I can't wait to start speaking my own lines,'' she says.

But they're not the only two actors who've had teething problems with dialogue delivery. In Kahiin To Hoga, Kashish's voice was dubbed for the first 140 episodes till Piyush's death. Mathur is an industry regular who's also lent her voice to Damini on Kyunki Saas Bhi..., Smriti on K Street Pali Hill and Shyamali on Family Business. Twenty-four-year-old Mathur feels closest to the character of Kashish which was her first big break. ''A show is a team effort and my task is to improve the actor's performance,'' she says.