Amitabh Bachchan becomes Alexa’s first celebrity voice in India 

Amazon on Monday announced its partnership with Amitabh Bachchan to create a unique experience for Indian users.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been roped in as Alexa’s first celebrity voice in India.
• To speak to the 77-year-old Bollywood star, users will have to say “Alexa, Say Hello to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan”.
• In 2019, Samuel L Jackson became the first-ever celebrity voice to collaborate with Amazon.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been roped in as Alexa’s first celebrity voice in India. Amazon on Monday announced its partnership with Amitabh Bachchan to create a unique experience for Indian users. To speak to the 77-year-old Bollywood star, users will have to say “Alexa, Say Hello to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan” on any Alexa-enabled devices.

Talking about the collaboration, Amitabh Bachchan said in a statement, “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.”

While Amitabh becomes the first Indian celebrity to lend his voice to Alexa, he isn’t the first celebrity to do so. In 2019, Samuel L Jackson became the first-ever celebrity voice to collaborate with Amazon. However, his version is only available to the users in the United States while Bachchan’s Alexa will only be limited to Indian users. Alexa users in India can listen to popular offerings like jokes, weather, shayaris, motivational quotes, advice, and more in his voice. “The Amazon Alexa team will work closely with Bachchan to capture the iconic voice from the Shehenshah of Bollywood and deliver a unique voice experience to customers. It will include popular offerings like jokes, weather, shayaris, motivational quotes, advice, and more,” the Amazon blog read.

The feature will be launched by 2021 and once it is rolled out users can experience his voice simply by asking Alexa to say hello to Amitabh Bachchan. “Millions of Indian customers use Alexa, the voice service which powers the Echo range of devices. Alexa is also available on the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Fire TV Edition, the free Alexa app as well as the Amazon shopping app (Android only). In addition, several third-party devices like mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, wear.ables and smart TVs also come with Alexa built-in. Customers in India will be able to access Mr Bachchan’s iconic voice on Alexa by purchasing the Amitabh Bachchan voice experience. This feature will only be available next year,” the official release said

“Cricket and Bollywood are integral to Alexa’s unique Indian personality. Mr. Bachchan’s voice is truly memorable for any Indian who has grown-up with Bollywood. This combination delivers a perfect pitch to further delight and simplifies the lives of our customers. We are excited to see how our customers will respond when they use Alexa and hear his voice,” said Puneesh Kumar, Country Leader for Alexa, Amazon India.