Sonu Sood on his audio show Commander Karan Saxena: See through your ears

In conversation with Sonu Sood on his new audio show Commander Karan Saxena and his experience of working in an audio show for the first time. He believes that today’s audiences are far more educated when it comes to critical appreciation of cinema. So, anything that you serve to them has to be ten out of ten.

The captivating thriller, based on author Amit Khan’s novel series ‘Hamladar Commander Saxena’, will be available exclusively on the audio streaming app, and voiced by Bollywood actor, Sonu Sood. The episodes will be available starting August 15.

The fictional show, produced by MNM Talkies and directed by actor-director Mantra Mugdh, encapsulates the journey and role of a secret agent, fighting to protect the country’s national security. When the audience meets Karan Saxena, he is a smooth-talking, courageous Commander who works alone and gets the job done, no questions asked. Three of the popular Commander Karan Saxena books, including ‘Ek Vaigyanik Ki Talaash’, ‘Chakravyuh’, and ‘Mere Haath Mere Hathiyar’, have been adapted into the podcast to give the listeners a new experience. Each book will comprise six episodes, 15 minutes each, and will start releasing on August 15th on Spotify.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about your experience of working in an audio show Commander Karan Saxena.

The audio world was something that was new for me, something that I had not explored. The audio show was a complete new journey for me. I have done television shows, OTT, cinema stage plays and I started feeling that there is nothing left for me to do. It was a really challenging experience. You have to play with your voice. It is a world that people can’t see, but it’s your job to make them believe in it. In an audio show, you are just using one of your senses so it is challenging.

My character Commander Karan Saxena is someone who is larger than life and someone whom you can look up to. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Commander Karan Saxena before the show started rolling.

When it comes to doing a podcast or an audio show how is the preparation different?

When you dub for a film, you know you have different characters and you can see how they reacted, what they are doing and what their body language is. But when you are doing a podcast, there are no references to see how the individual characters who are also there in the audio show are going to play their part. So, you have to imagine and make sure that you make those notes right on how your co-actors are playing their roles.

And you have to imagine whether you are running or whether you are climbing a hill. If you are breathless or sick you have to modulate your voice in such a way that the listeners or the audience can imagine what you are doing and what you are trying to convey. If you as a performer are not able to convince the audience and most importantly yourself then it doesn’t work. If you are not correct in that space, your audience will not be able to see the world that you are trying to show them. It is a challenging experience and you have to make sure that everything is right so that it becomes believable for the audience.

How much of the story has been taken from the book and how much cinematic liberty has been taken?

Since the book is pretty long, you just cannot have everything put in the show. But to make it entertaining the major soul of the show is taken from the book. The main theme remains the same.

What is the future of audio shows in India?

This is a new platform. We are living in a world where people are ready to explore. We didn’t know about zoom calls till the time the pandemic hit us. So, yes people are ready to explore and artists are ready to experiment. Sometimes when you are watching films you get tired and you just shut your eyes. That is the time you want to just listen to stories and let your imaginations go wild.

What are the advantages of making an audio show?

We have completed three books which have six episodes so it's quick and convincing I would say. But let’s see how convinced people are when they hear my performance. I remember as a kid we used to listen all those audio cassettes of Sholay and we used to imagine that world when we listened to it through the tape recorder. Through podcasts new stories are narrated in a new way.

How similar is it to radio shows?

It is similar, but audio shows have those special effects and a lot of importance is given to minute details. The audience today have a great exposure in terms of cinema appreciation, so you cannot serve them something that is average. It has to be ten out of ten. It has to be that good that people have to say just wow!

Is it a great time for artists with so many platforms to showcase their craft?

I would say it is a challenging time for creative people to make movies. You just can’t make films for the sake of making films. It has to be good and engaging. You just have to be right in your craft and understand and have a belief what story is going to work and what story is not going to work. So we have to work very hard on the content. You must realise that something that is average is not going to work because the audience will not accept it.

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