Amazon announces Amitabh Bachchan as Alexa's voice in India

Starting 2021, Indian users of Amazon Alexa can hear their voice assistant speak in Amitabh Bachchan's iconic baritone that has wowed generations. The tech giant has roped in the Bollywood actor as Alexa's first ever celebrity voice in India.

Amazon India announced this partnership through a tweet this afternoon.

The company wrote in a blog post,

"The baritone that has enchanted the Indian film industry for over five decades, will soon deliver a unique voice experience to the many Indian customers who use Alexa... 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."

"To get a flavour, say 'Alexa, say Hello to Amitabh Bachchan'," Amazon added.

The Amazon Alexa team will work closely with Mr Bachchan in the coming months to build a "unique voice experience" that will include jokes, shayaris, weather updates, motivational quotes, quick advice, and more.

Talking of his association with Amazon, Mr Bachchan said, "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.”

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Users can access Mr Bachchan's voice across all Alexa-enabled devices, including Echo, Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Fire TV Edition, the free Alexa app on mobiles, as well as the Amazon shopping app (on Android devices only).

"In addition, several third-party devices like mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, wearables, and smart TVs also come with Alexa built-in," Amazon added.

While Mr Bachchan is the first celebrity voice from India, he isn’t the first one globally. Amazon had earlier enabled actor-producer Samuel L Jackson’s voice for Alexa users in the US. But it was almost a natural choice for the tech giant to rope in the legendary Bollywood actor to expand on "Alexa's unique Indian personality".

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