For Oscar-winning sound designer-editor Resul Pookutty, working in films goes beyond bringing a director’s vision to the screen. Having graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1995, he has worked on a number of films including Saawariya, Kochadaiiyaan and Highway. “It has been an amazing experience so far. Looking back, I feel satisfied and successful — both commercially and aesthetically,” he tells us.
Recently, he became the first Indian to win the award for best sound — for the documentary India’s Daughter — at the 63rd annual Golden Reel Awards. Resul says, “The government had banned the film from public screening in the country — it wasn’t seen by people and I strongly feel that the film should have been shown in schools and colleges. I don’t understand why a progressive society like ours should react like this.”
He’s a technician par excellence who strives consciously to sensitise people about sound through his works. “More than recording, I always endeavour to design a sound that suits the correct ambience. As a sound guy, my attempt is to bring in the pitch and tone of every scene to the core compositional structure of the film, besides making the sound of the film close to reality,” he explains.
Quiz him about how life has changed after winning an Oscar, and Resul smiles, “I don’t choose any films. Instead people do. I don’t think my life has changed, but people’s perception about me and my work has drastically changed. It’s an evolving process.”
As a technician, he also says he’s open to every industry. “Be it Bollywood, Hollywood or whatever it is, I am fine with it. However, my work in India has given me an international identity. I think every Indian can adapt himself to wherever he goes. However, as far as Hollywood films are concerned, they work in a highly organised atmosphere. But here, down south, it’s a bit chaotic. Alright, I don’t usually complain, and enjoy the process silently!” he laughs.
To date, he values a compliment that he got from a visually challenged person close to his heart. “I got a call from this guy from Kerala who happened to see Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. He told me that he saw the film through my sound. I was very touched. There’s no bigger compliment to a sound designer than that,” he recalls.
The sound designer takes us by surprise when he says he first wanted to become an actor — “That was on my mind initially. But when I got a couple of offers from Malayalam, I politely said no, because now I am skeptical,” he chuckles.
Resul, who currently has films like Sivakarthikeyan’s Remo, Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil, besides a Hollywood film and the Enthiran sequel 2.0 in his kitty says he wants to work with Kamal Haasan too. “I’ve worked with some amazing set of people including Shankar, Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, etc. I hope my dream gets fulfilled soon,” he signs off.
