NFDC and Netflix partner to launch 'The Voicebox' upskilling programme for voice-over artists in India

New Delhi [India], July 18 : The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), a public sector enterprise under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB), have joined hands with Netflix India to launch an upskilling programme for voice-over artists in India called 'The Voicebox'.
According to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting press release, Prithul Kumar, Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Joint Secretary (Broadcasting II), MoIB, and Kiran Desai, General Counsel, and Senior Director, Business and Legal Affairs, Netflix India, signed the MoU to formalise the partnership, which aligns with NFDC and Netflix's combined vision to promote Indian cinema and nurture talent in the media and entertainment industry.
'The Voicebox' programme will offer Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) training for voice-over artists focusing on English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Gujarati languages. As part of the programme, structured workshops, which would include training (featuring guest lectures and mentoring sessions), followed by an assessment, will be conducted in seven major cities of India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kochi. Each batch would accommodate up to 30 candidates, with 210 participants selected through preliminary screening. At least 50 per cent of the participants will be women.
Pearl Academy, India's leading design institute, will join as a training partner for this programme. Seven top participants from every batch will be chosen to contribute to Netflix's special project, "Azaadi ki Amrit Kahaniya," where they will lend their voice to narrate stories reflecting the Indian independence movement, the press release said.
The programme has been made open to professionals, preferably women, with more than two years of experience in the media and entertainment sectors who are eager to enhance their skills in voice-over.
This Voicebox programme has been sponsored by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, which has dedicated $100 million a year over five years to setting underrepresented communities up for success in the TV and film industries through programmes all around the world, the press release added.
The occasion on Thursday was graced by Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, MoIB; Vrunda Desai, Joint Secretary (Films), MoIB; Aditya Kutty, Legal Director, Netflix; Freddy Soames, Head of Competition Policy, Netflix; and Sharad Mehra, Chairman, Pearl Academy, among others.