Sharad Kelkar Recalls Stammering Issues; Here's How He Dealt With It

Actor Sharad Kelkar is the voice behind Prabhas’ character Raghava in Adipurush and other big-budget films like Bahubali. But did you know Sharad, whose power-packed voice managed to enthral the audience, used to stutter while speaking? In a recent interview, the actor and voice-over artist shared the different types of stammers an individual can face.

Sharad Kelkar also mentioned how he overcame this issue and established a career in the entertainment industry. In an interview with the Humans of Bombay, Sharad Kelkar said, “What I suffered, I don’t want children to suffer. There are a few that are neurological stammers; a few may be physical, like breathing, or a lazy tongue, such that you think very fast but can’t speak with that speed. So stammering comes from this. You have to analyse exactly why it is happening. It took me a lot of time.”

Sharad mentioned that for a long time, he tried to figure out what the root cause of his speech disorder was and gradually realised that his breathing pattern was wrong. He added, “I worked a lot on it. I observed a lot of actors and people —how they speak and how they sound so nice. With me particularly, there was a breathing issue.” He further mentioned that the issue has not been rectified completely and that the actor still gets stuck in between his scenes.

He informed, “There are a few letters that need a specific kind of breathing. So, yes, you can overcome stammering by analysing why it is happening, and then try to rectify it.”

Here are a few tips on how to improve this speech disorder:

• One can record their own voice as they read or speak and later hear the audio to determine what causes them to stammer.
• Practise speech fluency by reading a book aloud or imagining a conversation with a person.
• You can also repeat a speech you need to deliver. This helps with word clarity and pronunciation.
• Pause and speak. Once you have analysed your voice, you will know where you often stutter. While speaking, try not to rush and think about every sentence before you say it.
• You can also pause and then continue where you left off. This will give you a chance to gather your thoughts.