Dr. Aswin Paul, a Junior Resident in Emergency Medicine at Welcare Hospital in Kochi, Kerala, has contributed as a voice artist for the Malayalam dubbed version of the Hollywood film franchise Avatar, specifically voicing the character “Spider” Socorro. The character is portrayed in the films by actor Jack Champion in the original English version. Dr. Paul’s involvement was reported by Manorama and reflects an unusual intersection between medicine and popular culture.
Dr. Paul, a native of Sultan Bathery, first attended an open audition in 2022 after a friend, informed him about the opportunity. When he arrived for the session, he did not initially know which character he would be dubbing. After the audition process, he was selected for the role of Spider Socorro in Avatar: The Way of Water and continued in the franchise for subsequent films.
He described a mixture of nervousness and excitement when he was told which character he would voice. Because it was his first experience dubbing, the session involved multiple retakes and corrections as he adapted to the role and the technical demands of voice recording.
Among the challenges he mentioned, Dr. Paul found it difficult to dub dialogue in Na’vi, the constructed language developed for the Avatar world of Pandora, and to match emotional expressions with on-screen action, such as scenes involving underwater movement. He also had to learn how to manage microphone distance and placement, while delivering varied expressions and sounds that matched the on-screen performance.
At the time Dr. Paul began dubbing for Avatar-2, he was still an MBBS student, from M.O.S.C. medical college, Kolenchery, Kochi, Kerala. He would commute late at night from his hostel to the studio after regular classes for the dubbing then. He continued this schedule while managing academic responsibilities, with support from friends, colleagues, and teachers.
Currently, he works as a doctor at Welcare Hospital in Kochi. To balance clinical duties with his creative interests, Dr. Paul arranges his shifts, often taking 24-hour duty periods, so that he gets two consecutive off days, enabling time for voice work and other interests in film making.
Beyond his work on the Avatar films, Dr. Paul has engaged in short film making. He has produced a short film titled Timeless with his friends, which has received awards, and expressed an ongoing interest in writing and filmmaking projects. Despite these extracurricular pursuits, he has indicated his intention not to leave his medical profession while continuing creative projects on the side.
(Rh)
