Shinchan was a game changer for Indian kids when it premiered in 2006, capturing the hearts of millions. The show’s quirky humour, paired with its catchy Hindi dub, made it an instant favourite, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Aakash Ahuja, the voice behind Shinchan, recently opened up in an interview with the YouTube channel The Motor Mouth about his experiences dubbing the show. He revealed that as a 10-year-old, he encountered the original, unedited version of the series, which was much more risqué than what Indian audiences eventually saw.
During his chat, Aakash recalled how the series faced a ban in India while he was still working on it. Surprisingly, this ban only fueled more interest in the show, as its original Japanese version was intended for adults but was presented to kids in India.
“I have seen Shinchan dancing naked and I have dubbed that too. Because they would say that you dub this, then we’ll see. He would sing lines like ‘haathi, mera pyara haathi’ and it was so lewd. Even adults shouldn’t watch it, it was so dirty. They would censor it all later,” he recalled.
Aakash shared that to lift the ban on Shinchan and make it suitable for television, he had to redub some lines. He recalled, “There used to be a line on the show ‘Bachhe churane vali moti budhiya,’ that was the line. After the case was filed… by then we had done around 150-200 episodes, I was called and all those lines were changed otherwise Shinchan would never be put on air. We changed all those lines so it could go on TV.”
Aakash said he stopped dubbing for Shinchan after tenth grade to focus on his studies. He noted that the work was affecting his health. His voice changed during his teenage years, and what he could do at 10 was different by 15. “At one point, there was so much strain that I had to go to an ENT doctor. That doctor said that if you continue, there is a risk of you losing your voice. I would also spend a lot of time with headphones so that could also impact my hearing,” he said.
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