Master of Words
Mayank Jain, Founder, VAudioT, has had a long and illustrious career in the Indian dubbing industry. The writer and dubbing artiste strives to give an unparalleled experience of watching dubbed content in Hindi and other Indian languages.
Nothing can be ‘lost in translation’ for Mumbai-based entrepreneur Mayank Jain. His company, VAudioT, is one of the leading names in India, when it comes to providing translation, trans-creation, dubbing, and other services related to the world of films, television and OTT platforms.
Born into a Marwari-Jain family based in Ajmer, Rajasthan, Jain completed his schooling from Utpal Shanghvi School in Mumbai, and went on to pursue his Master’s in Computer Science from Mithibai College. After completing his high school exams, he took up a summer job at Sound and Vision India, one of India’s foremost media localisation companies. The founder, late Leela Ghosh, a Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient, trained Jain in the areas of dubbing direction and script writing. And then, there was no looking back for him.
Making a beginning
Jain’s work entails adapting an English (or any other foreign language) movie or show and making it Indian by way of trans-creating (not simply translating it). He ensures that meaning is justified and simplified to such an extent that anyone can understand and relate with it. Till date, Jain has trans-created more than 150 Hollywood films from English to Hindi for the silver screen, television as well as several OTT platforms. He writes in all genres—drama, romance, action, comedy, sci-film, lifestyle, travel, and food—and has also trans-created more than 100 movies from languages down south into Hindi.
Jain started his career years back when the digital space wasn’t as big and the giant OTT platforms had still not entered India. With time, however, the industry has witnessed an evolution and trends have drastically changed. Elaborating on how it has affected his career graph, Jain says, “Back in those days, Hollywood movies only had theatrical releases and shows were made for channels such as Cartoon Network, Discovery and Animal Planet. In fact, Disney and National Geographic came to India much later. About two decades ago, content was quite limited. However, with Disney, Hungama and Nickelodeon coming to India, and with UTV Bindaas having a youth appeal, a lot more variety came in and more work started happening. Of course, after the arrival of OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, work grew like never before.”
The magic of trans-creation
Jain has trans-created Narcos, which was Netflix’s first foreign language show to be dubbed in an Indian language. America’s Funniest Home Videos is one of his earliest shows and its Hindi-dubbed version was a TRP grosser. Shows such as Cook with Nigella and Travel with Ian Wright on TLC (Travel & Luxury channel), further earned him a firm space in the industry. He has written the Hindi version of Hollywood hits like Kung Fu Panda (1, 2 and 3), Ice Age (1-7), Deadpool (1 and 2), Mission Impossible 6, Fast and Furious 9, Hobbs and Shaw, Top Gun 2, Jumanji (1, 2 and 3), Spider-Man (Far from Home and No Way Home), Bullet Train and The Big Friendly Giant. In fact, superstar Amitabh Bachchan dubbing for the main character in The Big Friendly Giant, written by him, was one of his career highlights.
The going hasn’t been as easy for Jain as it sounds. Shedding light on the challenges then and now, he says, “When I began my career, the basic challenge was to time-sync the Hindi lines with the English dialogues, so that it seems like a perfectly dubbed product. Back then, I fell short of words, at times, and had to think a lot while adapting every other line.
However, after 23 years of being in the industry, words flow from my pen, and my command over the language is a lot better. I write all genres so my challenge is to make each movie or show stand out. Most importantly, I try to trans-create in such a way that it doesn’t sound too literal or like a basic translation.”
Following his passion
VAudioT, founded by Jain, is one of the leading names in the world of dubbing, translation, subtitling, and music set-up today. He attributes a lot of his learning and success to his Marwari lineage. “As a Marwari, it is natural for you to grow like a businessman, as these skills are embedded in you! My Marwari background has helped in shaping my business acumen,” he says with pride.
VAudioT works on more than 70 Indian and international languages. It has studio tie-ups with nearly 30 countries across the globe. Jain says, “Most importantly, the whole idea of being from North India has helped me in my language skills, particularly Hindi, which, of course, is most important in my field!”
Jain is blessed with a wonderful family too. “My father, Manmohan Jain, worked as an Assistant Director at the Ministry of Tourism, and mother late Nirmala Jain, was an extremely sharp and vibrant homemaker. My sister is happily married in a Marwari- Jain family in Hyderabad. And, my wife, Nidhi, and sons, Nevan and Riaan, help me to strive better each day!” he quips.
A hardcore sportsman, who has his heart and soul in football and hockey, Jain loves to write—not just professionally, but also as a hobby. “Follow your passion. Look beyond the areas of engineering and medicine, and explore other fields, as they can also be extremely lucrative and satisfying. Above all, love your family, as they love you selflessly!” is his sincere advice to the readers.
