Alexa gets its first celebrity voice in India - and its Amitabh Bachchan
But, you've to wait till 2021
by Raj NarayanAmazon may have faced flak over its Echo devices carrying security breaches that allowed hackers to listen-in, but for its Indian audience, the company has managed to rope in a voice that every one wants to listen to. Amazon has partnered with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as its Alexa voice in the country.
This would be the first time that Alexa would be using the voice of an Indian actor and for the whole of India, having the Bachchan baritone answering all your queries to Alexa is just too good to be true. An official statement from the company today confirmed the development.
Now, Bachchan joins Samuel L. Jackson, who became the first-ever Alexa celebrity voice last September. While Jackson speaks only in English, the Indian superstar will be speaking to us in Hindi. There is no clarity whether Bachchan, who is fluent in English as well, would lend his voice while responding to English queries.
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How would it work?
Of course, nothing comes for free and users wanting Amitabh Bachchan's voice will have to cough up extra money. The "Amitabh Bachchan voice experience" is a paid service though Amazon has not detailed the cost or the package details as yet.
Also, India would have to wait for a few months more to get Amitabh Bachchan on their Alexa as the service would be available only next year.
“Technology has always given me an opportunity to adapt to new forms. Be it in movies, TV shows, podcasts and now, I am excited to create this voice experience in partnership with Amazon and Alexa. With voice technology, we are building something to engage more effectively with my audience and well-wishers,” Bachchan said in the press release.
What does the user get?
It said that the Amazon Alexa team was working with the Bollywood actor to capture his baritone that would deliver this unique voice experience to Indian customers. The package would include jokes, weather, couplets (shayari), motivational quotes, health advice and much more.
Amazon's press statement quoted Puneesh Kumar, country Leader for Alexa of Amazon India as stating that India has grown up with Bollywood and Bachchan's voice, which would combine to deliver a perfect pitch to the customers. Once the service is launched, users can simply invoke Alexa to add the Amitabh Bachchan voice experience.
Alexa is currently available on several platforms such as Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Amazon Echo, Alexa app, and the Amazon shopping app for Android. It is also enabled on several third-party devices including smartphones, speakers, headphones, wearables and smart TVs with built-in Alexa capabilities.