Table of Contents
Taaruk Raina, the new heartthrob in the Indian entertainment world, is voicing the character of Johnny Claymore in Marvel Entertainment and Audible’s Marvel’s Wastelanders: Doom. It is based on the popular English series with Hindi voiceover narrations done by Yashaswini Dayama, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sudhanshu Pandey and Karanvir Bohra (Klaw) among others.
In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Taaruk spoke about bringing Johnny Claymore to life and acting through his voice. The coincidence is that Robert Downey Jr returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the new character of Doctor Doom inAvengers: Doomsday. The title of the audio series has a connection.
Excerpts from the interview:
Being a youth star, how did you approach Marvel’s Wastelanders: Doom?
To be a part of anything Marvel is great and a different space. I was very excited about it. I love the audio world and its concept of being able to listen to something so closely and use your imagination. Marvel’s Wastelanders: Doom has no limits to it. The world allows you to be creative in your different ways.
Did you put your inputs like creating this slide itself?
Since it's an audio medium, you have some sort of freedom to mould your character the way you want to. Of course, staying true to who he is. The other thing is that because we did it in Hindi, a cultural twist also comes into it. When you change languages, you automatically get a bit of culture in it. That makes it unique from the get-go. We try things and workshops etc. All that matters is that the whole cast has to work in harmony. We are allowed to give our spin to it because that's what makes the characters unique.
Who is your favourite Marvel superhero?
My favourite Marvel superhero has to be Spider-Man.
Robert Downey Jr. is playing Dr. Doom in the upcoming Marvel movie. Are you excited for that?
Yes. I find it surprising because I haven’t seen such a thing happening. I’m very happy about it, but at the same time, I'm so curious that we will now not look at him as Iron Man. If someone can do it, it's him.
Do you wish to work with him some days as the titles match?
I’d love to think so. If this happens, I’ll walk up to him and say, “Hey, I was in the Hindi audio version of Doomsday.” I’m manifesting that. By all means, make it happen, please.
What was your first introduction to audio storytelling?
I used to listen to audiobooks and stuff. I’ve been glued to it. I think it’s a very nice way of spending your time. You can do other things while listening to something informative. It’s a very personal experience to listen to audio dramas and shows. It just gives you that kind of freedom to imagine anything you want to.
What’s tougher: Acting with facial gestures or voice?
Voice is tougher. When you have a visual, you have a method to show. But capturing the exact emotion is tougher in audio because you only have sound. You can't really see anything. There is no visual aid in it. Whether that's designing the music or the background or the voices or the spaces, to show something that is maybe bigger or smaller, audio is tougher.
What's your perspective on the audio world of storytelling?
The world of audio and the world of information through audio channels is kind of growing every day. Whether you think of it as people listening to podcasts, audiobooks or audio dramas, people are already doing it. I think there is a shift happening and will only continue to grow. It will keep getting better. The technology of it keeps getting better. The quality of it keeps getting better. So, the only way is up and it’s inevitable. It’s bound to happen.