'Slumdog Millionaire' wins best picture [Latest Update]

My interview with Resul Pookutty, Oscar recipient for Sound, from the Sunday Express.
The New Indian Express (Sunday Express) February 01, 2009.

Designing sounds to suit the ambience


On the sets of Slumdog Millionaire with Danny Boyle

K K Gopalakrishnan
First Published : 01 Feb 2009

WHEN I first met Resul Pookutty in 2005, the lean and bearded youngster wasn’t exactly a celebrity. It’s another matter he had by then sound-directed Black, and the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer had gone on to become a mega blockbuster. All through my interview with him then, I could sense Resul’s professional potential and confidence. Last week when I rang him up, Resul still sounded the same: sparkling but unassuming. It was only his stature that had changed: he has bagged three significant international nominations — the designator award of Los Angeles-based Cinema Audio Society (CAS), the British Academy of Films and Television Arts, and the Oscar. All of it for the much-talked-about Slumdog Millionaire. And it’s for the first time an Indian audio artiste has featured in any of the nominations for these three awards.
“The Oscar nomination, in itself, is a big milestone for me. However, as a professional, I consider the CAS as the most significant one. I had a sleepless night on the eve of its announcement. You know the society, as on date, has only 560 members,” Rasul unveils his mind during our telephonic chat. The CAS result will be announced on February 14, and Oscars eight days later.
There were two things that interested Resul during his student days in college: physics and cinema. And looking back, it’s this two-tier passion that drove him to become a sound
engineer for films. As a teenager from a southern Travancore village, he enjoyed doing mono act and slapstick mimicry shows.
But on a more serious venture, Resul was into film society activities. He took physics as his main subject for graduation, and was planning to do higher studies in the subject. It was around that time one of his friends asked him if he could try do a course at Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). “After all, it is related with physics,” he had told Resul. So, in 1990, Resul attempted to do a post-graduate diploma in cinema specialising in sound recording and engineering.
But achieving the aim wasn’t without hiccups. Resul did pass the all-India admission test for the course, but was edged out in the second stage. “That forced me to returned to Kerala. I then joined the Thiruvananthapuram Law College,” he trails off.
But his determination to get into the world of celluloid remained intact. The following year, Resul made another attempt and found his seat at the same film institute. He graduated in 1995 and moved to Mumbai, the dreamland of Indian commercial filmmakers.
“That was a natural immigration as a graduate of the institute. See, 95 per cent of the technicians in the Mumbai film industry are alumni of FTII. At a national level, it should be around 70. And each year, almost one-tenth of the national awards goes to those groomed from the institute,” points out Resul, adding that he firmed up his interest to specialise in sound mixing — “both aesthetically and commercially.” Clearly, he has achieved the endeavour. Until recently, artistes like Resul were dubbed mere sound recorders; the industry seldom attached much significance to them.
But Resul and his generation have changed it all. “For a film, we have a director, a music director and a cinematographer, but not many were finicky about the sound director — be it an art or a commercial film. Now, that isn’t the case,” notes Resul.
Private Detective is another significant film for Resul. Released in 1997, this Rajat Kapur film, was not a hit but I would rate it good. Among others that came Resul’s way are Rajat Kapur’s own Mixed Doubles and the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini. So far, Resul has created sounds for more than 25 films. Mathrubhumi — A National Without Women (an Indo-French venture that looks into female infanticide) and Missed Call by Mridul Vinay are among the 25-odd films where he has proved his mettle.
His skills and craft won him accolades from colleagues in the fraterninty. After seeing Black, actress Savyna Mandil from London wrote to Resul: “I have always rated you as one of the finest sound designers, and Black only reinforces my belief.” From Los Angeles, a budding compatriot filmmaker from Hollywood messaged him, “The whole theatre applauded, I cried. I couldn’t have seen a better film for inspiration. We feel proud as Indians now.”
And Resul has been consistently updating himself with the technology. “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,” he explains. Resul reveals that professional reasons prompt him to often argue and even quarrel with the directors of the film. “But all disputes are invariably solved after heated discussions. After all, we are equally bothered about the final product.”
Resul says his mission in the case of any film is to make a conceptually befitting sound. “I had to work to make sounds natural, as a film is basically a mix of technique and art. It’s very complicated.” No wonder, Resul’s sound design is distinct for its vibes as well as the compositional configuration. His art has made audio effects an integral part of the
storytelling on silver screen.
nambiarkkg@gmail.com
(Gopalakrishnan is a culture writer
based in Thrissur, Kerala)

Hi Gopalji,

Thanks for the info.great report to say.

thx

Slumdog IS doing pretty well!

Yes Emsheih Slumdog is goodmovie.. i watch 4 times and finally i came to know that it has something uniqueness which other dont..

I need to watch it for sure now! Good post, vishnu, although I'm not sure I agree with this remark: "it's easy to see why Slumdog Millionaire is up for 10 Oscars, this movie is the happiest movie out of all five films that are up for Best Picture"... As far as the Oscars go, they, most of the time, pick up pretty depressing movies :)

Yes John watch it twice plz.. you will love it..Slumdog is beautifully shot and it's an understanding film. Actually it's a Hindi movie shot in the English language. Danny is an Indian guy disguised as a Britisher

Hi, John i want to know your opinion after watching .. pls keep in touch...

Hey, will do. I still haven't gotten around to it, need to take out some time for it soon, but will definitely let you know how I felt about it, cheers!