Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Other Indian nominated for Oscar after AR Rehman - Resul Pookutty

Directing Sound

YearResultAwardCategory/Recipient(s)
2009 Nominated Oscar Best Achievement in Sound
for: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Shared with:
Ian Tapp
Richard Pryke

Resul Pookutty, who hails from Anchal in Kollam district, Kerala gives a new definition to the art of sound direction in Bollywood films.



SOUND DECISION: Resul Pookutty.

The name Resul Pookutty has become almost synonymous with sound direction in Hindi films, especially after the success of Sanjay Leela Bansali's `Black.' Resul was recently in Thrissur in connection with the second Thrissur International Film Festival.

Resul hails from Vilakkupara in Anchal in Kollam district and it was fate that landed him in tinsel town, that too in Bollywood movies.

Joining the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune "was a turning point in my life." Resul passed out from the Institute in 1995 and moved to Mumbai, the dreamland of Indian commercial filmmakers.

"That was a natural immigration as a graduate of the institute. Ninety-five per cent of the technicians of the Mumbai film industry are alumni of FTII, Pune," points out Resul. "After my graduation from Pune, my interest to specialise in sound became clear, and today I feel I am successful, both aesthetically and commercially," he says.

Importance of sound

Until recently sound artistes were merely considered as sound recorders without much significance in the industry, but Resul's generation totally changed it into sound direction. Rajat Kapur's `Private Detective' was his maiden work and after that his career graph accelerated. His recently released films include `Black' and `Mathrubhumi - a national without women' by Manish K.J. (this film, an Indo-French venture, eamines the issue of female infanticide). `Missed Call' by Mridul Vinay and `Mixed Doubles' by Rajat Kapur will be released soon.

"More than recording the sound, I always endeavour to design a sound that suits the correct ambience. I am doing sync sound, which is new in Indian cinema.

"As a sound director, my attempt is to bring the tone and pitch of every scene to the very compositional structure of the film. It is technical and artistic as a film is basically recreation of reality. And my effort is to make the sound of the film as much close to reality," he says.



IN 2008....
Ghajini (2008)
Mithya (2008)


  1. Ghajini (2008) (sound designer)
  2. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) (ADR mixer) (sound mixer)
  3. Woodstock Villa (2008) (sound mixer)
  4. Dus Kahaniyaan (2007) (sound designer)
  5. Saawariya (2007) (sound designer)
    ... aka Eternal Soulmate (India: English title: literal title)
    ... aka Oh, My Love (International: English title: literal title)
  6. Gandhi, My Father (2007) (production sound mixer) (sound designer) (sound engineer)
  7. Traffic Signal (2007) (sound designer: graftif)
  8. Bombay Skies (2006) (sound designer)
  9. Mixed Doubles (2006) (ADR mixer) (sound designer) (sound mixer) (sound)
  10. Zinda (2006) (ADR mixer) (sound designer)
  11. Bluffmaster! (2005) (ADR) (foley recordist) (supervising sound designer)
  12. Black (2005) (sound designer) (sync sound mixing) (trade mixes)
  13. Amu (2005) (sound designer) (sound)
  14. Musafir (2004) (ADR mixer) (sound designer)
  15. Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na (2004) (sound designer)
  16. Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003) (production sound mixer) (sound designer) (sound)
    ... aka A Country Without Women (International: English title)
    ... aka A Nation Without Women (International: English title)
    ... aka Matrubhoomi un monde sans femmes (France)
  17. Raghu Romeo (2003) (ADR mixer) (foley mixer) (sound)
  18. Boom (2003/I) (production sound mixer) (sound designer)
  19. Agni Varsha (2002) (foley engineer)
    ... aka Agnivarsha: The Fire and the Rain (USA)
    ... aka The Fire and the Rain (USA)
  20. Everybody Says I'm Fine! (2001) (additional sound mixer) (ADR mixer) (foley mixer) (sound designer: / Dolby EX 6.1) (sound effects mixer) (sound post-production engineer)
  21. Bombay Eunuch (2001) (sound)
  22. Snip! (2000) (ADR mixer) (sound designer)

  23. Split Wide Open (1999) (ADR mixer) (sound designer)
  24. Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One (1997) (sound)
    ... aka Private Detective - Do Jama Do Jama Ek (India: Hindi title)

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