Learning Monday with Chetan Shashtial: What’s in a Voice?

This Lumière Learning Monday, we took a dive into “A Whole New World” with the global creative powerhouse, actor, singer, voice actor, and trainer Chetan Sashital.

Every element of our being is connected to the other. Similarly, our voice is not merely a sound but defines our entire existence. With his spontaneous voice-overs, captivating stories, and fun exercises with the Lumière audience, Chetan took our imagination to a recording studio; behind the scenes! 

This Monday we felt more enlightened to explore the potential of our voice and how to nurture it to realize life’s purpose.

So, read ahead to unlock the secrets of voice and the unlimited possibilities it offers!

Breath & Sound

We breathe to live and express ourselves by speech (able-bodied). Just like we exercise to tone and strengthen our muscles, our voice needs some care and attention too. The practice is not exclusive only to voice artists. “Each Akshara (अक्षर ) in Varnamaala (वर्णमाला) teaches you different things”, explained Chetan. Utilising the diaphragm, a critical organ of respiration, in a certain way lends each Akshara its unique identity. The key is to pay attention to the changing pressure centre of the sound. 

Interestingly, the most important Akshara is ‘R’ (र). Small children and sometimes adults, struggle with its pronunciation. For practical learning, the team participated in Chetan’s fun tongue twister challenge and learned how one can sharpen the clarity of speech. Here is how you can too!

Be a Proud Owner of the Conch

Playing a conch is the best exercise to activate the diaphragm. The goal should be to play it in a single breath for at least 30 seconds. The right technique is to generate vibration of sound using the lips in synergy with the opening of the conch. This method of controlled exhalation ensures you don’t feel tired. It is all about tapping into the power of our diaphragm. 

Studies have shown that each time you play the conch it generates 50,000 vibrations. “All the surroundings become purified, sanctified, sanitised by the conch”, says Chetan and recommends playing it at least 11 times a day. In Mahabharata, each warrior owned a coach; “Everybody should be a proud owner of a conch”, a lesson worth remembering and incorporating. 

Sing and Strengthen

Learning and practicing vocal singing is another beneficial exercise for our voice. Training the diaphragm to match the perfect frequency of each note will improve the mobility and frequency of voice. Chetan’s connection with music is strong. He has trained in Indian Classical Music for 14 years & plays various musical instruments. “Music is very important. It’s the best way to relax.”

Among the many insightful facts that Chetan shared, one was about how challenging Mongolian Throat Singing is. Traditional Mongolian herders used to develop different harmonics from one note by using their upper vocal cavity muscles. These sounds would travel long distances to keep the animals close by. 

Equally challenging is singing low notes. They can be used to create relaxing sounds, found in many Buddhist chants. 

Parameters & Elements of voice 

One of the challenging experiences in Chetan’s professional endeavours was to use the Base element of his voice for the character of Darth Vader in Star Wars. It involved the use of breath and an absolute relaxation of the vocal cords which is like doing Kapalabharti (कपालभारती), also known as the breath of fire.

Only an expert like Chetan Shashital could take us to the other end of the vocal spectrum by doing the impression of how a robot sounds using the metallic element of his voice. The pitch of such a sound is really high.

Other elements are Mids and Huskiness. Chetan was also requested to play musical instruments using his voice in his career. His creativity has no limits. Using the same voice he can play the Rudra Veena (रुद्र वीणा), emulate a fly and play the saxophone!

Intense Study of Voice

Deepa Soman asked Chetan about his interaction with artists whose voice Chetan was to dub and whether they doubted his capability. Dubbing for Late Amrish Puri in a Marathi film was a challenging project as it involved the use of the base. Nevertheless, Chetan surprised the star with an accurate voice representation! Another time, he surprised Sachin Tendulkar while dubbing for a commercial. 

The technique to a successful dubbing is to understand the individual artist and the impact of his established vocal identity. “I’m not a mimicry artist.” … “My attempt is to catch that tone.” Abiding by the correct grammar of the translated language is extremely essential! 

Play of Language

Chetan acknowledges that everyone’s speech is a derivation of the region they belong to, and the accent and meter in the voice are peculiar to their mother tongue. This makes it easy for Chetan to identify a person instantly; “Every language teaches us different things”, says Chetan. Observing, understanding, learning, and mastering the nuances of language and incorporating them in the voicing can bring an artist closer to the audience. Studying his/her state of mind is an aid. “Your mind completely influences your voice,” Chetan stated from years of knowledge and experience in his domain. 

Fisherwoman and Tuk Tuk

Chetan and his friend Suresh Eriyat, animator, Founder, and Director of Studio Eeksaurus Productions Pvt. Ltd. collaborated to create a short film. What makes this film special is the challenges it posed and Chetan’s spontaneous creativity and adaptability in turning them into opportunities.

The film had no script and followed a Reverse animation procedure (Recording first and animating later). 

As the film progressed, Chetan morphed and played 38 characters, simultaneously wrote the script, created songs, and completed the film in only 8 hours! 

The language of the film is Marathi (an Indian regional language) spoken in a different accent that sounded completely gibberish. This creative masterpiece brought home 18 international awards, and the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Film festival Award 2016’ for Best Music and Voice Design.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xwF-OXGtHY&t=2s

Disney Dynamism

Chetan opened for us a window into his experience with Disney. Earlier, Disney movies or series were not as accessible as they are today, and it was challenging for voice-over artists to understand what the character embodies. 

Disney has Standard Operating Procedures, wherein a sample of the character and its voice is provided to the artist, and nothing can be altered except the language. So, once you completely personify the character and start loving it organically, the children, Disney’s major target audience, will love it too. “The kid in you has to be there always,” advises Chetan. 

Disney has acknowledged and recommended Indian voice-over artists as being at par with the U.S. and best in the world!

Boundless Impact

Chetan has influenced the space of Medical Research and conducted Training programs for doctors. We learned to tap into the power of the Gayatri mantra, an Indian chant. Each recitation creates 1,20,000 vibrations. In fact, “Each and every mantra has a different potential provided it is said and recited correctly,” identifies Chetan and signals the potential for scientific research on the effects of such immense vibrations on the air quality around the reciter.
If you wish for absolute relaxation and quick sleep, we recommend to you listen to a 10-minute Omkar chant developed by Chetan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fixi3O0k32Y 

Moreover, Chetan has worked closely with Deepa’s father with his tips and inputs on speech therapy.

Chetan left us with a beautiful reminder to tap into the power of breath and connect with our higher self and reach for the stars. We are all capable of that!

“Every voice is individual, each individual has his voice, so love your voice, take good care of your voice, make this asset grow. Because I believe that if you realise your voice you realise your purpose in life, because your voice is your Naada. And once your Naada connects with that Naada Brahma which is up there somewhere then you’ve achieved it.”

– Chetan Shashital