In the last couple of days, voiceover artiste Mohak Ninaad has been bombarded with an unusual request from local mediapersons and people in his Mira Road neighbourhood: "can you talk like Modi?" "Honestly, I don't know how to!" says the 29-year-old, sounding amused and exasperated in equal parts. The deluge of attention, however, is not entirely unexpected. It's the reason why we have reached out to him as well.

On August 12, when Prime Minister Modi made his television appearance with Bear Grylls Discovery India's Man vs. Wild, the channel recorded its highest-ever ratings in the infotainment genre. As the show was aired in different regional languages, the Marathi version stood out, thanks to Ninaad's rich, buttery voice. With his deep baritone and well calculated pauses, he nearly made it impossible for viewers to guess that the person dubbing for the 68-year-old Indian PM, is, in fact, only in his 20s. "I do sound like a middle-aged and with my weight gain, I'm beginning to look like one," he jokes. Interestingly, he landed the opportunity only a week before the show's release. He was dubbing for the Hindi version of television series American Digger at a city studio, when one of the producers of Man vs. Wild, requested him to suggest names for somebody who could dub for PM Modi. "They had auditioned hundreds of people, but weren't convinced with the outcome. They needed somebody who sounded elderly, presidential and refined." Ninaad suggested two names. Neither made the cut. At the producer's insistence, he gave the audition and it clicked.