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In a press interaction for Netflix’s Money Heist: Korea, actor Yoo Ji-tae, who plays The Professor on the show, reportedly said, "As an actor, I have always been told I have a nice voice.”
Now, Yoo Ji-tae's iconic role (and voice) will be taken up by famed voice-over artist Sanket Mhatre in the Hindi dub for Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, the Korean adaptation of popular Spanish series La Casa de Papel, better known as Money Heist.
While the adaptation is mostly faithful to its Spanish counterpart, it is peppered with traditional Korean elements.
Set on a unified Korean peninsula, The Professor, a genius strategist, hires eight candidates with unique personalities to plan the ultimate heist in Korea, all while dealing with police forces and agents of the law.
Given that Money Heist: Korea received an incredible response from Indian audiences, Netflix was keen to take it to as many Indian fans as possible, thereby explaining the need for the Hindi dub.
The Hindi dub for Money Heist: Korea boasts an incredible cast of acclaimed voice actors, one of them being the talented Sanket Mhatre, who has voiced over dozens of Hollywood, Bollywood, Japanese anime series and regional-Indian language films.
Mhatre floored viewers with his terrific performance as the calm, collected and conniving Professor. His exceptional talent, unmatched experience as a voice artist and versatility, all came together to breathe life into Yoo Ji-tae's character.
In an exclusive conversation with SK POP’s Anwaya Mane, voice-over artist Sanket Mhatre dished out what it was like to portray the role of The Professor, his love for a Korean classic starring Yoo Ji-tae, which other Money Heist character he would have loved to voice and future Korean projects.
Sanket Mhatre on expectations from the second half of Money Heist: Korea, why he chose voice-acting, and more
Q) Congratulations on receiving such a tremendous response for Money Heist: Korea! We are sure your social media handles must be buzzing with compliments.
Sanket: Thank you so much. It has been quite overwhelming to see the response. The previous Money Heist was a big hit and a remake could have easily missed the mark, but thankfully it has been well received. I’m glad people have liked the Korean "Professor."
Q) Let’s talk about Money Heist: Korea. How did you bag the role of the Professor?
Sanket: As it happens with most projects, I underwent an audition process, where I was asked to voice a couple of random scenes in the series while depicting the varying emotions of the Professor. Eventually, I was told the audition went well and I bagged the role.
Q) Do you watch Korean dramas? Are you familiar with Yoo Ji-tae’s work?
Sanket: I’m not a drama fan in general, but I love Korean films. Yoo Ji-tae has been a part of one of my most favorite films, Oldboy. I absolutely loved him in it, and years later had the opportunity to voice for him.
Q) The professor is a genius strategist and the key mastermind in the heist plan. How did you prepare for this character and attempt to make it different from the Spanish version, or for that matter the original Korean version?
Sanket: I generally approach a project on a scene-to-scene basis and react using my voice depending on the character situation in a specific scene. I did not try to fashion this character based on the previous Professor, I didn't need to. Yoo Ji-tae has done a brilliant job of making the professor stand out as a character, I tried to follow his nuances as closely as possible.
Q) Actors often say they get a kick out of playing an anti-hero or a grey-shaded character! Did you feel the same? What did you enjoy the most about playing the professor?
Sanket: Anti-heroes usually break the generic acting formula and hence are more fun to portray. In that sense, I’ve always enjoyed my anti-heroes a tad bit more than the heroes, at least for the challenge they’ve given my craft.
It was definitely fun playing a Deadpool or a Homelander (from The Boys) or the Professor because the characters always try to be one up over the situation they’re in.
Q) How did you ensure that you play the character authentically and yet retain the essence of the original?
Sanket: I think, to a large degree, the change in language brings in originality in itself. Dubbing in Hindi and using language nuances that belong to us in a situation that is Korean takes a while to get used to, but as any fan of K-dramas will tell you, their culture is pretty similar to ours.
I usually focus on retaining the original emotions and with help from our wonderful writers and directors closely match the original performance. The challenge I set for myself is that the audience should be able to forget that they’re watching a foreign language show and immerse themselves in the experience.
Q) Is there another character would you have liked to play, and why?
Sanket: I loved the character of Berlin and if I had a chance I would have loved to audition for him. While the Professor has a calm demeanor and pulls all the strings from the shadows, Berlin is on the field, making sure everything is in place. Also, I loved Park Hae-soo in Squid Game and voicing for him would’ve been nice.
Q) If you could go back in time and re-do one scene, which one would it be and why?
Sanket: I think the bane of every artist is how they constantly judge their work. When I see a project I have voiced for on TV or in a theater, I think about the mistakes I’ve made or the places I could’ve tried something different. In that sense, there are several scenes from various projects of mine where I think I could’ve gone in a different direction.
For the Professor, maybe trying out a different tone for his romantic scenes could be an example.
Q) The first part of Money Heist Korea has received a tremendous response so far! Can you shed light on what the audiences can expect from the second part of the series which is expected to air in the latter half of the year?
Sanket: Here’s the beautiful part about this: I have no clue. We have not recorded the latter half of the show yet. This could be to keep the show as secretive as possible because there are lots of plot twists coming up.
So I am waiting to see the fate of my character as eagerly as the audience members are!
Q) Moving to your voice acting career, in an industry and country where actors are obsessed with being “seen”, what prompted you to pursue a career as a voice actor?
Sanket: I came to the voicing field by accident. I was experimenting with theater for several years, right through college and even after that. But when I tried voicing, I was hooked to it. It gave me the same kind of satisfaction I got from being on stage.
The not being “seen” part actually helped quite a bit, to perform naturally without being felt judged by people looking at me. As far as being obsessed with being “seen” is concerned, I’m lucky to be working in the age of social media. Fans can now directly connect and share their love and feedback with me. This not only encourages me as an artist but also helps me improve my craft.
Q) Visual actors have the liberty to do a lot more - changing their physical appearance, playing with their body language, etc. Did you feel any limitations as a voice actor?
Sanket: When people tell me they’ve been told they have a great voice and they’d like to be a voice actor, I often tell them about screen acting vs voice acting. Screen actors live the character, they dress like them, they have props and sets which bring in even more realism to their acting and they have co-actors who respond to their dialogue. On top of this, they get rehearsals and lots of time to develop a character.
In comparison, a voice actor learns about the character he/she has to voice for when they enter the studio. They’re given a basic brief of their character and they have to start recording. Every couple of minutes, the voice actor has to change their emotions depending on the scene. They’re given no co-actors, props or sets to immerse themselves in the scene or character.
On top of this, they have to record by listening to one language, while reading the script in another language, and matching the actor's lips on screen. But I personally don’t view these things as limitations, only challenges to my craft, and enjoy taking them on.
Q) What message would you like to give to fans of Money Heist: Korea? And finally, are there any Korean projects in the near future?
Sanket: For the fans of Money Heist: Korea, thank you for all your love and support. Keep watching, there’s more to come!
I do have some very interesting Korean projects coming up in the near future. Unfortunately, we’re bound by contract and can’t reveal any names, but I can say one of them is an already trending Korean comedy series and the other is a classic Korean action movie.
More about Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area
The first six episodes of the Korean adaptation was released on June 24 and received a tremendous response from fans across the world.
Money Heist: Korea featured in the Global Top 10 weekly list of the most-watched international Netflix TV shows. It topped the list with 33,740,000 viewing hours in the week from June 20 to June 26 and with 49,000,000 viewing hours in the week from June 27 to July 3.
The remaining six episodes of Money Heist: Korea are slated to air sometime later this year. However, no official announcement regarding the same has been made as of yet.
Disclaimer: The interview was edited for clarity and grammar purposes.
