About Dheena Chandra Dhas

Dheena Chandra Dhas (also known as Dheena C Dhas) is an Indian voice over artist, actor, singer, and sound engineer with more than five decades of experience in the performing arts. Born in Madras (now Chennai) on 1 August 1956, he has built a career spanning rock music, playback singing, musical theatre, film, television, and professional voice work.

His deep, resonant voice has featured in collaborations with some of the biggest names in Indian entertainment, including composer A.R. Rahman and actor Kamal Haasan. Today, Dheena provides English voice over services from his professional home studio in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, serving clients across India and internationally.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Dheena Chandra Dhas was born Samuel Dhinakar Chandra Dhas in Madras, India. He grew up in a family with strong musical connections. His elder brother, Madhukar C. Dhas, became a prominent figure in the Indian rock music scene of the 1970s. This environment exposed Dheena to live performance and studio recording from an early age.

The Madras of Dheena’s youth was a vibrant cultural centre with a thriving English-language music scene. Hotels, clubs, and concert venues regularly hosted live bands playing Western rock and pop music. This ecosystem provided opportunities for talented young musicians to develop their craft through regular live performance.

Dheena’s musical journey began in this context during the early 1970s. His powerful voice and natural stage presence quickly established him as a sought-after lead vocalist. By his late teens, he was already performing professionally with established bands in Madras.

Rock Bands and Live Performance

Over the course of his musical career, Dheena Chandra Dhas served as lead vocalist for numerous rock bands across India and abroad. His tenure with these groups spanned from the 1970s through the 1990s, a period often described as the golden age of Indian English-language rock music.

Atomic Forest

Among his most notable associations was Atomic Forest, a pioneering Indian rock band based in Bombay. Atomic Forest gained recognition for their original compositions and energetic live performances. The band developed a devoted following and contributed to establishing rock music as a serious art form in India during an era when film music dominated the popular landscape.

Other Bands

Dheena’s full roster of bands reflects the breadth of his musical journey across multiple cities:

• Magic (Chennai) – Early career band in his hometown
• Desire (Chennai) – Continued development as a frontman
• Commandoes (Madras) – High-energy rock performances
• Hope (Bombay) – Part of the Mumbai rock circuit
• Rage (Chennai) – Hard rock influenced sound
• Culture Lynx (Chennai) – Experimental rock fusion
• Storm (Chennai) – Power rock performances
• The 2nd Chapter (Chennai) – Later career Chennai project
• The Phantom Revival (Bombay) – Mumbai-based rock revival band
• Satin (Dubai) – International performance experience in the UAE

This extensive band experience developed Dheena’s vocal stamina, stage presence, and ability to connect with live audiences. These skills would later prove invaluable in his voice over career, where vocal control and emotional delivery are essential.

Playback Singing and Film Music

Beyond live rock performance, Dheena established himself as a playback singer for Indian cinema. Playback singing is a distinctive feature of Indian film production, where professional vocalists record songs that actors lip-sync on screen. This role demands both vocal excellence and the ability to match emotional delivery to visual performance.

A.R. Rahman Collaboration

Dheena’s most celebrated playback work came through his collaboration with A.R. Rahman, one of India’s most acclaimed film composers. For the 1997 Hindi film Daud, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, Dheena recorded the song “Zahreela Zahreela Pyar” alongside legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle.

This collaboration was not merely professional. Dheena shares a childhood friendship with Rahman, dating back to their early years in Madras before Rahman achieved international fame. This personal connection added depth to their musical partnership.

The Daud soundtrack showcased Dheena’s ability to perform alongside India’s most celebrated vocalists while holding his own artistically. Working with both Rahman and Asha Bhosle on a single track represented a significant milestone in his singing career.

Other Collaborations

Dheena’s playback and studio work extended beyond the Rahman collaboration. He performed with notable artists including:

• S.P. Balasubramaniam – Legendary playback singer with whom Dheena recorded the song “Hey Papa” alongside Jojo
• Sivamani – Acclaimed percussionist known for his innovative drumming style
• Jojo – Vocalist and frequent collaborator

His playback singing credits include work for Telugu cinema as well, including songs for films such as Trinetrudu and Idu Saadhya. This multi-language capability demonstrated his versatility as a studio vocalist.

Additionally, Dheena lent his voice to numerous advertising jingles throughout his career. Commercial voice work for radio and television advertisements provided steady income while building his reputation for reliable, professional vocal delivery.

Theatre and Musicals

Parallel to his music career, Dheena Chandra Dhas developed a significant presence in Indian musical theatre. Chennai (then Madras) hosted ambitious productions of Western musicals, often featuring local talent alongside visiting directors and choreographers. Dheena became a regular performer in these productions, taking on lead roles that showcased both his vocal abilities and acting skills.

Jesus Christ Superstar

Dheena’s most notable theatrical role was playing Judas Iscariot in productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. This demanding role requires exceptional vocal range and dramatic intensity. The character of Judas serves as a complex antagonist whose musical numbers are among the most challenging in the show.

Dheena’s performance in this role earned praise from critics. The Hindu described his work as “simply heavenly” in a 2004 review. His interpretation of Judas demonstrated his ability to inhabit psychologically complex characters while delivering vocally demanding material.

Other Musical Theatre Credits

Dheena’s theatrical resume includes lead and featured roles in major musical productions:

• Cats – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running musical featuring characters based on T.S. Eliot’s poetry
• Tommy – The Who’s rock opera, where Dheena served as narrator according to production credits
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – The Lloyd Webber and Rice biblical musical
• Starlight Express – Lloyd Webber’s roller-skating musical spectacle
• Witness – Stage production showcasing his dramatic abilities

These productions were mounted in Chennai and toured to other Indian cities, bringing professional musical theatre to audiences across the country. Dheena’s involvement in these shows established him as one of the leading musical theatre performers in South India during this period.

The discipline of musical theatre proved excellent preparation for voice over work. Stage performers must project clearly, maintain consistent vocal quality through long performances, and convey emotion through voice alone when audiences cannot see facial expressions clearly. These skills translate directly to microphone technique and voice acting.

Film and Television Acting

Dheena Chandra Dhas expanded into screen acting during the 2000s, bringing his theatrical training to film and television productions.

Mumbai Xpress

His most prominent film role came in Mumbai Xpress (2005), a comedy directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and starring Kamal Haasan. Dheena played the character of Raju, appearing in both the Hindi and Tamil versions of the film. Working with Kamal Haasan, one of Indian cinema’s most respected actors, represented a significant achievement in Dheena’s acting career.

The dual-language production required Dheena to perform the same role in two different linguistic and cultural contexts. This experience demonstrated his adaptability and comfort working across language barriers.

Other Screen Work

Dheena also appeared in Peter Yesley’s short film Lungiman Takes a Ride, playing the title character. This independent production showcased a different side of his acting abilities in a more experimental format.

On television, Dheena appeared in Tamil soap operas including Kolangal, one of the popular serials on Tamil television. Television work provided regular exposure to Tamil-speaking audiences and demonstrated his ability to work within the demands of serial production schedules.

Dubbing

Beyond on-screen appearances, Dheena contributed voice dubbing for Indian films. His dubbing credits include work on 1921, a 1988 Malayalam horror film directed by I.V. Sasi. Voice dubbing requires matching emotional delivery to existing visual performances while maintaining lip-sync accuracy. This specialised skill further developed his voice acting capabilities.

Broadcasting and Voice Work

Throughout his performing career, voice work remained a consistent thread. Dheena’s clear diction, resonant tone, and neutral Indian English accent made him well-suited for broadcast applications.

All India Radio

Dheena served as a news reader for All India Radio, Madras. This prestigious position required impeccable pronunciation, measured delivery, and the ability to communicate clearly to diverse audiences across the country. Radio broadcasting in India reaches millions of listeners daily, and news readers must maintain consistent professionalism across every bulletin.

The discipline of radio broadcasting instilled habits that serve voice over artists well. Strict timing requirements, the need for error-free delivery, and the absence of visual cues to support communication all prepare broadcasters for professional voice work.

Theatre Narration

In addition to performing on stage, Dheena worked as a narrator for theatrical productions. Stage narration requires projecting to large audiences while maintaining the intimate quality of storytelling. This experience bridged his theatrical work and his development as a voice over artist.

Transition to Voice Over Focus

While Dheena has never entirely left music or theatre behind, voice over work has become his primary professional focus in recent years. His extensive background in performance provides a foundation that few voice artists can match. Five decades of live performance, studio recording, broadcast work, and screen acting have refined his vocal instrument and interpretive abilities.

Today, Dheena applies this accumulated expertise to serving clients who need professional English narration for their projects.

Voice Over Services Today

Dheena Chandra Dhas currently operates from a professional home studio in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. The hill station’s peaceful environment, away from urban noise, provides ideal conditions for clean audio recording.

His voice over services focus on English language content, delivered in a neutral Indian accent that works for both domestic and international audiences. The accent retains authenticity without regional markers that might limit appeal. This makes his voice particularly suitable for content targeting pan-Indian or global English-speaking audiences.

Dheena’s technical background as a sound engineer ensures that recordings meet broadcast quality standards. Files arrive properly edited, levelled, and ready for integration into client productions.

Services include commercial voice overs, corporate narration, e-learning content, documentary narration, audiobook recording, explainer videos, and IVR telephony. For detailed information about each service category, visit the Voice Over Services page.

Remote recording capabilities enable Dheena to serve clients across India, including Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other major cities. International clients from the United States, United Kingdom, UAE, and other countries also commission his services regularly.

Press and Media Coverage

Dheena’s work has received recognition from Indian media over the years.

The Hindu

The Hindu, one of India’s leading English-language newspapers, has covered Dheena’s theatrical work on multiple occasions:

• “Simply heavenly” – Muthalaly, Shonali (10 August 2004). Review praising Dheena’s performance in Jesus Christ Superstar.
• “Timothy Sheader’s Jesus Christ Superstar opens in London” – Raghavan, Nikhil (22 July 2019). Article referencing the history of Jesus Christ Superstar productions in India, including those featuring Dheena.

External Profiles

For additional information about Dheena Chandra Dhas, the following external resources provide verified biographical data:

• Dheena Chandra Dhas on Wikipedia – Encyclopaedia article with career overview and references
• Dheena Chandra Dhas on Wikidata – Structured data record with linked information
• Dheena Chandra Dhas on IMDB – Film and television credits database entry

Hear Dheena Perform

To experience Dheena’s vocal abilities in a musical context, listen to this cover of the Eagles classic “Peaceful Easy Feeling”:

This performance demonstrates the warm, controlled vocal style that Dheena brings to his voice over work. The same qualities that make for compelling musical performance translate directly to engaging narration and voice acting.

For professional voice over samples across different content categories, visit the Voice Samples page.