Amitabh Bachchan to be the first Indian celebrity voice for Amazon’s Alexa

• Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is the first celebrity voice integration for Amazon’s Alexa in India.
• In December 2019, Amazon had announced that Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson’s voice would be one of the firsts to be integrated with Alexa.
• Amazon Alexa’s engagement has been growing in India, with over thousands of requests received every minute between March to May 2020.

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is the first celebrity voice integration for Amazon’s Alexa in India.

The feature will be available only next year, and customers will have to purchase it to use Bachchan’s voice. “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-wisher,” said Bachchan in a statement.

Amazon has long been experimenting with celebrity voices for its voice assistant Alexa. In December 2019, Amazon had announced that Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson’s voice would be one of the firsts to be integrated with Alexa.

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal took to Twitter to share the announcement.


“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 simplify 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.

According to reports, Amazon Alexa’s engagement has been growing in India, with over thousands of requests received every minute between March to May, the period of strict lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon India has been ramping up the offerings from Alexa. Recently, Amazon announced that Echo users can also use Spotify through the device in addition to Amazon Music, Jio Saavn, Apple Music and others.

Last year, it also announced that Indian users can now pay bills through the voice assistant feature through Amazon Pay. “We consistently obsess over customer needs and consider their feedback when developing new Alexa features,” Puneesh Kumar, Country Manager for Alexa Experiences and Devices, Amazon India had then said.


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