Singer Chinmayi Sripada has made a comeback as a voice-over artist in Leo directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. She has dubbed Trisha in the 'Thalapathy Vijay-starrer, with fans on social media sharing positive feedback for her return in the latest mass action entertainer, which also features music composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Chinmayi, who was shadow-banned by the South Indian Cine, Television Artistes and Dubbing Artistes Union (SICTADAU) four years ago, has now in an exclusive interview with Galatta opened up about her dubbing experience in Leo in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages, while also addressing the qualms she initially had about whether her voice will be featured in the film.
Speaking about dubbing for Trisha in Vijay's Leo, Chinmayi explained how she had doubts in the beginning that her voice might be replaced. She said, "I didn't know whether my voice would be included in the film. I was also thinking about the pressure of my voice being told to be replaced. I gave it a lot of thought and discussed it with my husband Rahul. Later on, I put out a post on Twitter that I'm a million times grateful for the opportunity." Chinmayi also opened up on how audiences might have wondered if it was indeed her who dubbed for Trisha. She stated, "I said before that I was very emotional when I faced the mic and also because it's a straight Tamil venture after such a long time and such a big project. As an artiste or a singer, my talents have not been reduced. They're either the same or have gotten better. I'm well aware of my capacity. However, when this kind of thing comes my way, it is a statement and I believe that this is a big step forward for the MeToo movement too because women across India and all over the world have been banished and paid a very heavy price in naming their perpetrators."
Chinmayi continued, "From Salma Hayek to Lady Gaga. Even now, Lady Gaga continues to state that she's afraid to name her perpetrator. [[And, that's] somebody as powerful and rich as Lady Gaga. [Similarly], I have openly warned many people to be careful, but they'll be ignorant and say that they've got nothing to do with anything that's happening around them. But, I'll tell them that it's only for a few days and everything will be known later. Sometimes I feel that it would have been nice had I been warned as I would have avoided everything."
In 2018, Chinmayi’s membership was quashed from the SICTADAU after she voiced her support for women who named actor-politician Radha Ravi, the President of the dubbing union, in the MeToo movement. After challenging the dubbing union's decision, she approached the court and got an interim stay on the ban, but continued to be snubbed by the Tamil film industry. It was around the same time that Chinmayi also raised sexual harassment allegations against Vairamuthu giving an account of how she was asked by the organizer of a program in Switzerland 13 years earlier to "cooperate" with the celebrated lyricist.
