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"I watched the DVD with my 4 year-old daughter and it was great to be able to hear the dialogue in English and understand..." said Gurumustuk Singh, after watching a preview copy of the English version of one of the most admired Sikh children's movies, "Sahibzadey: A Saga of Valor & Sacrifice".
Released in 2005, Vismaad's first animated Sikh movie, Sahibzadey, was an instant success. The adorable signature painting of the movie became an icon in every household and wallpaper of every child's computer. "Today, after 5 years, we still get feedback from parents of how their kids watch the movie over and over again." says Bakhtawar Singh, Founding Director of Vismaad.
Why the English version now after 5 years? People had been demanding the English version from day one and we, at Vismaad, were also convinced that there was a need. But we were unable to find the voice-over artists who could do the movie justice. As the English version was primarily meant for the Western audience, it had to be dubbed in the right accent. The professional voice-over companies didn't staff people who could pronounce Punjabi-specific words.
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Ultimately, Vismaad chose the toughest option of preparing a team of Western-born Sikh voice-over artists. For 3 years we kept talking to our friends in the UK, US and Canada as to who could take on this challenge to find the right voices, train the individuals and manage to bring everyone together for the final recordings. Many friends and admirers of Sahibzadey wanted to help, but somehow things never took off. Then I met Rajnarind Kaur, during the NJ screenings of "Sundri: The Brave Kaur". While preparing for the screenings, I learned that she was the voice behind "Bani Pro", the unique Gurbani project released for the 300th Anniversary of the Khalsa Panth in 1999. When I mentioned my desire to dub Sahibzadey in English, she was immediately responsive and willing to take on this seva project. The best thing was that she had a recording studio where "Bani Pro 2" was completed in 2006 to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev Ji's Shaheedi.
Having found someone to manage the voice-over seva, the next step was to translate the Punjabi script into an English one. My wife's brother, Upkar Singh, introduced me to Mandeep Singh and Sangeeta Kaur of St. Louis who did a remarkable job in "Americanizing" the subtitles and also matching the phonetics and length with the original Punjabi lines.
We then decided to hone in on individuals who were in the vicinity of the recording studio. For this Rajnarind Kaur, zeroed in on the amazing sangat of Sikh Sabha of New Jersey in Lawerenceville. Auditions were taken via phone from India. The selected sevadaars were then asked to watch the Sahibzadey DVD paying particular attention to the character that they were chosen to dub. Everyone devoted hours practicing the English translations in karaoke with the original DVD. Lines were modified for timing and pauses and with the scheduling seva underway, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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Dubbing finally began on 20-July-09 and each voice-over artist was called to the studio per the tight schedule. Punjabi recordings were played line by line for each character, so as to match the timing and phonetics in order to lip sync the animated video. It was definitely tougher than what I had originally envisaged. Many lines had to be modified in the studio which added precious time to the hourly recording fees. I would personally like to thank "Bani Pro" for picking up the studio cost. After several retakes, each artist seemed to understand their character, however, dubbing for 3-4 characters in one day could not fit in the initial aggressive plan. I had to return to India with the project incomplete. Rajnarind Kaur stepped up as director, yet insisted that I listen via phone for the lines of the remaining characters. Bhenji Jasvinder Kaur made the young sevadaars comfortable and chipped in with her valuable acting advice on many occasions.
Special thanks to Lance, the owner of the studio, who showed great patience and even occasionally helped us with line modifications. This project created more awareness for him of Sikh history and he developed a taste for aloo paronthey and other Indian food.
Vismaad is pleased to offer the result of the seva from the Lawrenceville Gurudwara sangat who were able to manage their time away from school and work. The team at Vismaad did a remarkable job in turning around the dubbing into the DVD that we present to you all today. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy the English version of Sahibzadey and send us your valuable feedback. Our products plus "Bani Pro" make great presents for the vacation season!
Coming soon fun-filled Punjabi learning for kids with our latest project "35 Akhar"
For more information, please see the following links:
Vismaad
www.SikhDVD.com
www.sahibzadey.com
www.BhaiTaruSingh.com
Vismaad Music on iTunes
facebook //Bhai-Taru-Singh-Ji
Bani Pro
http://www.banipro.com/
http://www.cdbaby.com/Search/YmFuaSBwcm8%3d/0
http://www.sikhdvd.com/ListAudioCD.aspx
http://www.panjabmall.com/brand.aspx?mid=8
http://www.spiritvoyage.com/yoga/Bani-Pro/Rajnarind-Kaur/CDS-001167.aspx
Sahibzadey English dubbing artists
Nihang Singh/Anchor - Raminder Singh
Baba Fateh Singh ji - Chaahat Kaur
Baba Zorawar Singh ji - Mankaran Singh
Wazir Khan - Gurmeet Singh
Mata Gujri ji - Rajnarind Kaur
Suchanand - Mandeep Singh
Sher Mohammed Khan - Sachdeep Singh
Gangoo - JangPartap Singh
Moti Mehra - JangPartap Singh
Soldiers - Simranjit Singh, Sachdeep Singh, JangPartap Singh
Kaazi - Hardip Singh
Children - Amritleen Kaur, Rubani Kaur, Kabir Singh, Simranjit Singh
Old Man - JangPartap Singh
First Lady in Public - Jasvinder Kaur
Second Lady in Public - Harbans Kaur
Marad 1 - Hardip Singh
Marad 2 - Sukhwinder Singh
Hor Avaaz - JangPartap Singh