Bollywood

Ben Kingsley speaks Hindi

Dibyojyoti Baksi, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, January 18, 2013

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First Published: 16:19 IST(18/1/2013)
Last Updated: 16:21 IST(18/1/2013)

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Actor Ben Kingsley arrives for the National Board of Review Awards Gala. The year saw only one release Hugo for the actor who worked in Teen Patti last year with Amitabh Bachchan. (Reuters)

Thanks to his part-Gujarati roots, British actor Ben Kingsley has always had a special liking for India. In the past, he’s done two films in the country — Gandhi (1982) and Teen Patti (2010). Now, he’s gearing up to do something he didn’t get to do in either film — speak Hindi.

The actor

plays the dreaded villain, Mandarin, in the upcoming Iron Man 3. Word is that he will dub his own lines for the Hindi version of the film, which hits theatres in India on April 26.

A trade source reveals, “This is the first time he will be dubbing in Hindi. He played his characters in Gandhi (1982) and Teen Patti (2010) flawlessly, but he didn’t speak Hindi in either of those films.”

Kingsley’s father, Dr Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji hails from Gujarat, but was born in Kenya.

Adding that the dubbing will take place in Los Angeles towards the end of this month or early in February, the source says, “A team of three-four people are flying to LA from India. Kingsley will undergo a short training in the language and diction before he dubs for the film there.”

The film is being distributed by UTV Motion Pictures in India. Apart from Hindi, it will also release in Tamil and Telugu on the same day. When contacted, UTV remained unavailable for comment.