Lal explains why he did not dub for his character in Karnan

Dhanush’s ‘Karnan’, after its blockbuster theatrical run, is now streaming in Amazon Prime. The film is getting rave reviews from people who missed the film from the big screen. Directed by Mari Selvaraj, it is a hard-hitting film about the oppression faced by a particular community in a rural village in Tamil Nadu. While Dhanush plays the titular character of a fierce righteous youngster, he is throughout supported by Malayalam actor Lal. It is the veteran’s best role in Tamil cinema till date and his performance is getting widely talked about.

After the OTT release of ‘Karnan’, many social media users have been asking Lal why he did not dub for his character despite being fluent in Tamil. Last day, he took to his social media handle to explain that the Tamil in the film, which is of Tirunelveli dialect, is very different from the normal Tamil. Though the makers, including director Mari Selvaraj and producer Kalaipuli S Thanu, insisted Lal to dub for the character, he thought it would not be ideal for the film. It was at his request that the voice of a Tirunelveli native was used.

Lal’s Facebook post reads,

Dear All,
Many of you have been asking me as to why I have not lent my own voice for Yema Raja in Karnan. As you all know Karnan is set in the backdrop of Tirunelveli; the dialect of Tamil spoken in Tirunelveli is very different from the Tamil spoken in Chennai. Even in Malayalam, if one is asked to speak in Thrissur dialect, it often ends up being a mere imitation, and nothing close to how a native of Thrissur would speak.
Moreover Karnan is a movie in which the language and culture is of great importance and hence a unique dialect of the Tamil language has to be spoken to bring the character to a whole. Majority of the cast were locals themselves; there was a good chance that my dubbing would have stood out from the rest of them. As I did not want to give anything less than my 100% for this movie, I was skeptical.
Due to persistence of the crew including the director Mari Selvaraj Sir and Producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu Sir, I did go to Chennai for the dubbing sessions. However, it was for the good of the film, and also at my request, that the voice of a Tirunelveli native was used.
Thank you for all your support and good words.
With love,
Lal.